Witness describes horrifying moment private plane burst into flames and crashed in Florida
Around 600 people, including residents of a mobile home park were forced to evacuate in Palm Beach County, Florida after a private jet smashed into a roadway nearby.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed that all nine people on board the Learjet 60 were killed, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said there have been no reports so far of anyone on the ground being killed or injured.
Among those who saw it happen were local resident Anthony Blackmon, who told NBC6 he was about 500 feet away when the plane fell out of the sky, hit the ground with tremendous force, before bursting into flames in Greenacres at around 1.25 pm Sunday.
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"Debris was everywhere. Debris hit my house. Everything was on fire, even the road was on fire," he said.
"I've always seen it on the news, never thought it would happen so close to somebody like how it happened today."
Several people living close to the crash site have since described what they saw.
Rodger Forcelle said he felt the Bahamas-bound aircraft, believed to be worth $2m, pass over his house moments before it came down.
"It shook the whole house. It went right over us and crashed probably less than half a mile form where I live.' he said.
"Everybody came out of their houses because you could feel it shaking."
Forcelle added that he saw a massive cloud of smoke rising from the area and could not return home after leaving to run errands.
Another resident told NBC Miami it ‘looked like a meteor hit the ground’ after the jet, which had taken off from Austin, Texas, smashed into the roadway.
A dashcam video also captured the jet plummeting into the ground and exploding into a massive plume of fire and smoke.
Air traffic control audio, meanwhile, picked up a pilot on board saying “holy [expleted], we’re out of time” in what were the last words heard before the crash.
DeSantis called the crash ‘cataclysmic’ and a ‘tragic way to see people pass away’.
“Obviously, this was a cataclysmic plane crash. It looked like a missile going down. It left a big crater on the side of the road,” he told reporters.
The force of the impact left debris scattered over a ‘significant distance’, which is why roughly 600 people had to leave their homes while federal investigators begin examining the scene.
Joel Flores, Palm Beach County Commissioner for District 3, said at a press conference on Sunday evening that evacuating the neighboring community was the immediate focus.
“Right now our priority is evacuating the adjacent community right behind. We have about 600 people that we have to make sure have shelter tonight, food,” he said.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it has initiated a ‘go-team’ to arrive at the scene on Sunday night and Monday morning.
The FAA told UNILAD: “A Learjet 60 crashed in a residential area near Cresthaven, Florida, around 12:50 p.m. local time on Sunday, Nov. 1. Nine people were on board.
“The aircraft departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was headed to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas.
“The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate. The NTSB is in charge of the investigation and will provide all updates.”
UNILAD has contacted the National Transportation Safety Board for comment.
Thomas Bamford