9 killed as private jet crashes in Florida, video shows aircraft plunging into fireball

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New Delhi: Nine people on board the private jet died tragically after it crashed into a Florida neighborhood on Sunday. The jet nosedived from the sky and came down ablaze to the ground near a major road in Palm Beach County.

According to officials, the crash involved a Learjet 60 that was headed to the Bahamas from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas. The aircraft went down at about 12:50 PM in Greenacres, Florida.

Videos shot by bystanders in cars showed terrifying visuals of the plane plunging to the earth before it burst into a huge fireball. The impact created a large crater near some houses in the neighborhood.

Air traffic recordings revealed that the pilot had reported ice forming on the aircraft with moderate turbulence that caused the jet to jolt as much as 700 feet. The pilots also requested permission to go higher.

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The plane continued to descend even more dramatically until the pilot declared an emergency and sent out distress signals to indicate that he was rapidly heading downward and that the aircraft was about to crash.

At the same time, authorities in Florida began helping to evacuate about 600 residents from a mobile home park nearby.

The Federal Aviation Administration is aiding the National Transportation Safety Board in the investigation. There is no information about the cause of the crash or who was aboard yet.

Watch the video here:

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