Nine Dead After a Bahamas-Bound Learjet Crashes Into a Florida Road. 600 Neighbors Evacuated

A Learjet 60 flying from Austin, Texas, to North Eleuthera in the Bahamas crashed in a residential area of Palm Beach County around 12:50 p.m. Sunday, the FAA said. Nine people were on board. None survived.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the deaths on X. The jet came down on Military Trail near Greenacres, between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North, and CBS12 reports the road is expected to stay closed for weeks.

"Today's plane crash in Palm Beach County, Florida is a horrific tragedy," Duffy wrote. He said the FAA is sending a team to support the NTSB's investigation.

What officials have confirmed

The FAA says the jet departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and was headed to North Eleuthera Airport. The NTSB is in charge of the investigation and says it is sending a go-team, with investigators arriving Sunday and Monday morning.

Gov. Ron DeSantis joined local officials at the scene Sunday evening. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office says the crash caused significant debris, damaged nearby infrastructure and forced evacuations. About 600 residents of the adjacent community are getting temporary shelter.

The Associated Press reported that DeSantis said there were no immediate reports of anyone on the ground hurt or killed. The names of the nine people on the jet have not been released.

The jet

No official statement has named the aircraft's tail number. Flightradar24 tracked a Learjet 60 registered N722BD leaving Austin that morning for North Eleuthera, the same route the FAA gave, and news outlets have identified it as the crashed jet.

The FAA registry lists N722BD as a Learjet 60, serial number 271, owned by LR60271 LLC of Wilmington, Delaware. The registry leaves the build year blank. Flightradar24 lists it as a 2004 model. Who operated Sunday's flight, and whether it was a charter, is not yet known.

What the radio calls reportedly show

Flightradar24 and CNN say air traffic control audio captured by LiveATC.net has the crew telling controllers they were in icing and moderate turbulence near 35,000 feet. The crew then reported flying in precipitation and asked to climb.

Moments later, according to those accounts, the pilot declared a mayday and reported an overspeed while descending about 20,000 feet per minute. Flightradar24's last altitude reading was 8,750 feet. Officials have not confirmed any of the radio exchange.

The NTSB has not given a cause. Its briefing in West Palm Beach on Monday is the first time investigators are expected to speak about the flight's final minutes.