Nine killed as Bahamas-bound Learjet crashes in Palm Beach County, Florida

Palm Beach County, Florida — Nine people died Sunday afternoon after a Bahamas-bound Learjet crashed and erupted in flames in Palm Beach County, South Florida, officials confirmed. The crash is the second-deadliest in the United States this year, according to National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) records, behind only the June skydiving-plane crash in Butler, Missouri, which killed 12.

The aircraft was a Learjet 60 flying from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas to the Bahamas, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The jet went down near Military Trail, between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North, about four miles south of the West Palm Beach airport, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said.

According to flight-tracking data from ADS-B Exchange, the jet descended 27,000 feet over the course of one minute, just before tracking data cut off. Authorities closed all lanes of Military Trail in both directions until further notice and urged drivers to avoid the area.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who confirmed the deaths, called the crash a "horrific tragedy." County Commissioner Joel Flores, the first county official at the scene, said about 600 people are in need of shelter because of damage on the ground from the impact.

The FAA and the NTSB will investigate the cause of the crash. Officials cautioned that this is a developing story and that information may be updated as the investigation advances.

Photo: CNN / WPBF

Source: CNN