Jet crashes in Florida, killing all nine people on board

All nine people on board a Learjet 60 jet died in a “cataclysmic” crash in Florida on Sunday afternoon, officials said. The flight, which departed from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was headed for North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas, crashed near Cresthaven, a residential neighborhood in Palm Beach County, around 12:50 p.m., the Federal Aviation Administration said. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said all nine people on the flight died. He called the crash a “horrific tragedy” on social media, adding, “Please join me in praying for the families and loved ones of those we lost.” The identities of the people on board have not been released. Video showed a crater in the middle of a road engulfed in flames.

In distressing air traffic control audio, a woman says: “Mayday, mayday. We’re descending 10,000 feet per minute.” She later frantically yells, saying the jet was descending at 20,000 feet per minute. “We’re gonna crash into the ground 722 Bravo Delta,” she can be heard saying, followed by a scream. Only about two minutes earlier, she had reported experiencing “light, clear ice” but said it was “manageable,” and she described “moderate turbulence.” She later reported, “We’re picking up precipitation,” and asked to climb in altitude. A flood watch was in effect Sunday for southern Florida, with numerous showers and scattered