All 9 people on board a Learjet 60 died Sunday afternoon in a cataclysmic crash in a Florida neighborhood.
The jet was flying from Texas to the Bahamas when it plunged into a Palm Beach County community around 12:50 p.m., leaving a fiery crater in the road.
Distressing air traffic control audio captured a woman frantically declaring a Mayday. She said the jet was descending at 20,000 feet per minute, yelling, “We’re gonna crash into the ground,” right before a scream.
Just 2 minutes prior, she reported moderate turbulence and manageable ice, and requested to climb to a higher altitude.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the deaths, calling the crash a horrific tragedy. Fortunately, no one on the ground was injured.
The identities of the victims have not been released, and the FAA and NTSB are now investigating the incident.
