Law enforcement reply to a aircraft crash in Palm Beach County, Fla., on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026.

Mark Elias/AP

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Mark Elias/AP

A enterprise jet carrying 9 folks nose-dived into a South Florida neighborhood Sunday and erupted into a large fireball that appeared to just miss houses close to a busy roadway. Everyone on board was killed, the nation’s transportation secretary said.

Video recorded by folks inside their automobiles captured the terrifying second the Bahamas-bound plane plunged from the sky before placing close to the Palm Beach County roadway and exploding. Flames flickered around chunks of pavement lining a crater as folks milled about, expressing shock that it landed only toes from houses and inches from passing automobiles. Thick black smoke engulfed the crash web site.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy posted on X that the Learjet 60 crashed in Palm Beach County at 12:50 p.m. and called it a “horrific tragedy.” The Federal Aviation Administration is sending a group to support the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation, he said.

Law enforcement reply to a aircraft crash in Palm Beach County, Fla., on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026.

Mark Elias/AP

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Mark Elias/AP

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said there were no instant reports of anyone on the floor injured or killed.

“It was a cataclysmic plane crash,” DeSantis informed reporters at the scene. “It looked like a missile going down and left a big crater on the side of the road.”

Rain pounded the area on Sunday. A flood watch due to extreme rainfall was in impact through Monday afternoon, the National Weather Service said.

The plane had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was headed to the Bahamas, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Authorities did not instantly say what triggered the jet to go down or who was on it.

The aircraft was heading east at 35,000 toes (about 11 kilometers) when pilots reported turbulence, icing and precipitation and requested to climb another 2,000 toes (about 610 meters).

Moments later, the aircraft entered a steep dive, first 10,000 toes per minute, then 20,000 toes per minute and up to 30,000 toes per minute, dashing the aircraft beyond its design limits, according to air site visitors management recordings and flight monitoring knowledge.

A pilot declared an emergency and issued misery calls. The aircraft banked sharply to the proper before it smashed into the floor.

Minutes before the crash, the pilot reported ice accumulating on the jet and turbulence that was jolting it by as much as 700 toes (213 meters), according to air site visitors management recordings captured by LiveATC.internet.

“We have light, clear ice that is manageable and moderate turbulence,” the pilot informed controllers.

But the state of affairs quickly deteriorated. After encountering precipitation and requesting to climb, the pilot declared an emergency as the plane started dropping altitude at an alarming charge.

“We’re descending 8,000 – mayday, mayday – we’re descending 10,000 feet per minute,” the pilot radioed.

“We are in an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute,” the pilot radioed, before delivering a devastating acknowledgment of what was about to occur. “We’re going to crash into the ground.”

Jim Reynolds, a spokesperson for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, said the jet was a non-public plane. He could not instantly present particulars about who was on the flight.

Steve Arroyo, an aviation security knowledgeable, said icing and turbulence could have been elements in the crash and may have triggered the aircraft to stall while it was cruising at 34,000 toes (10,363 meters).

There are many potential elements and the NTSB will take into account all of them, including how the pilot responded to the icing and turbulence reported over the radio. But investigators won’t rule anything out at this early stage, he said.

The NTSB said investigators were expected to arrive at the crash web site on Sunday and Monday. A media briefing is scheduled for Monday in West Palm Beach.

Palm Beach County authorities were evacuating about 600 folks from a close by cell house neighborhood while federal officers examine the crash. The highway will be closed until further discover, county officers said.

The crash occurred in Greenacres, Florida, according to Palm Beach County sheriff’s officers. The metropolis of 45,000 folks is about 7 miles (11 kilometers) southwest of West Palm Beach.