All Nine on Private Jet Killed in Florida Crash

All nine people aboard a private jet died when the aircraft crashed into a residential neighborhood in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the deaths during a briefing.

The Learjet 60, with tail number N722BD, took off from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas. Its destination was the Bahamas. The aircraft plunged from the sky and struck the ground near a busy intersection, creating a large crater in the pavement and a massive fireball.

Federal Aviation Administration officials said they are sending a team to support the National Transportation Safety Board. The NTSB will lead the investigation into the cause of the crash. Authorities have not yet released the names of the passengers or the crew.

The impact occurred near Military Trail and 10th Avenue North in Palm Beach County. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office closed the roads in both directions and asked drivers to avoid the area. Emergency crews, including firefighters, arrived quickly after the crash.

Witnesses inside nearby cars filmed the jet falling straight down before it hit the ground and exploded. Thick black smoke covered the site, and flames licked at pieces of broken pavement surrounding the crater. Some residents described being in shock because the jet landed only a few meters from homes and centimeters from passing vehicles.

Power to the immediate area was cut for about two hours following the impact. A woman working nearby noted the outage but did not report any structural damage to her building. It was not immediately clear if any nearby houses were damaged by the debris or the fire.