A private plane nosedived into a suburban street in Palm Beach County Sunday afternoon, leaving a fiery crater in the road and killing all nine aboard.

Dramatic dashcam footage shows the plane speeding straight down toward the street before exploding on impact, scattering debris all over the road and a nearby mobile home community. The area is locked down for the investigation and cleanup.

The Learjet 60, which is described as a mid-size cabin, medium range business jet, departed from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. The aircraft crashed around 12:50 p.m. while headed to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas.

U.S Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed on X that all 9 people on board were killed in this “horrific tragedy,” he said in the post. He asked people to join him in “praying for the families and loved ones of those we lost.”

Shortly before the crash, the pilot can reportedly be heard telling an air traffic controller at Miami Center there was icing conditions and turbulence, according to LiveATC.net audio archives. She was shouting “mayday, mayday” and “declare an emergency” before announcing the aircraft was descending at 20,000 feet per minute.

“We’re going to crash into the ground,” she screamed before she cut out.

The FAA said to contact local authorities for information about those who were on board the aircraft. A spokesperson for Palm Beach County Fire Rescue didn’t respond to questions about the crash or deaths but referred to a brief statement posted on X. This “will be an extended incident,” the statement said.

Dozens of people were posting videos and images to Facebook of the reported plane crash, showing a fiery crater in the road with scattered debris.

“Obviously this was a cataclysmic plane crash,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said during a press conference streamed by several news sources. “It looked like a missile going down. It left a big crater on the side of the road.”

A lot of debris was thrown across a pretty significant distance as a result of this crash, DeSantis said. There were no reports of people injured or killed who were on the ground.

The aircraft crashed in the area of Military Trail, between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North, according to Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Therese Barbera.

A spokesperson for the National Transportation Safety Board said the flight, with the tail number N722BD, was lost from radar and radio contact around 1:25 p.m. while en route and crashed in Lake Worth Beach. Investigators are arriving at the crash site, and additional information is expected to be released Monday during a briefing in West Palm Beach.

According to the FAA registry, the fixed-wing multi engine aircraft is registered to LR60271 LLC in Wilmington, Delaware.

A spokesperson for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport said this was a general aviation, or private flight. The airport doesn’t have “access to information regarding passenger and crew identity, aircraft history, ownership and operator of the aircraft,” the spokesperson said in a statement shared with the Miami Herald.

Military Trail between 10th Avenue North and Purdy Lane/Alemeda Drive will be closed until further notice, the Palm Beach County Emergency Operations Center said in a statement. Only emergency vehicles will be permitted access, and law enforcement will be redirecting non-emergency traffic and assisting local residents, as needed.

“The Palm Beach County Engineering and Public Works Department recognizes that this is a major thoroughfare and understands the inconvenience this closure may cause,” the statement said. “We appreciate the public’s patience and cooperation as we work to re-open the roadway.”

©2026 Miami Herald. Visit miamiherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.