Nine people have been killed after a Learjet 60 crashed into a neighbourhood in Palm Beach County, Florida, near US President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
The aircraft crashed on Sunday near Cresthaven, less than seven miles from Trump’s Florida residence, according to officials.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the deaths, describing the incident as a horrific tragedy.
The Learjet had departed from Austin, Texas, and was heading to the Bahamas when it went down.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who spoke to reporters near the crash site, described the incident as a catastrophic crash.
“It looked like a missile going down,” he said, adding that there were no reports of injuries among people on the ground.
Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel Flores said the aircraft crashed near the entrance to a mobile home park, prompting the evacuation of about 600 residents, who were relocated to shelters.
Trump was at Mar-a-Lago earlier on Sunday but had left the area aboard Air Force One shortly before the crash.
He departed from the nearby President Donald J. Trump International Airport at about 11:55am local time, approximately an hour before the incident.
Audio recording captures pilot’s final distress calls
An audio recording published on the air traffic website LiveATC.net captured what appeared to be the aircraft’s final communications with air traffic control.
In the recording, a person in the cockpit reported moderate turbulence, said the aircraft was managing ice and reported that it was picking up precipitation.
The person then said the aircraft needed to climb before declaring an emergency.
“Mayday, mayday, we’re descending 10,000 feet per minute,” the person said.
The recording later captured another warning that the aircraft was descending at 20,000 feet per minute.
“We’re going to crash into the ground,” the person said shortly before communication stopped.
Storms had reportedly been recorded in the area around the time of the crash.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it would investigate the incident alongside the National Transportation Safety Board.
The cause of the crash has not been officially established.
