Horrified residents described the aftermath of a private jet that plunged into the ground and burst into flames near a Florida mobile home community, killing all nine people aboard and forcing hundreds of residents to evacuate.
Anthony Blackmon, who lives nearby, told NBC6 that he was about 500 feet from the Learjet 60 when it dropped almost straight to the ground and erupted into a fireball in Greenacres at approximately 1:25 p.m. Sunday.
“Debris was everywhere. Debris hit my house. Everything was on fire. The road was on fire,” Blackmon told the outlet. “I’ve always seen it on the news, never thought it would happen so close to somebody like how it happened today.”
Another resident, Roger Forcelle, said the Bahamas-bound aircraft, believed to be worth $2 million, flew over his home moments before the devastating crash.
“It shook the whole house. It went right over us and crashed probably less than half a mile from where I live,” Forcelle said.
“Everybody came out of their houses because you could feel it shaking.”
Forcelle said a huge column of smoke rose from the crash site and that he was unable to return home after leaving to run errands.
Another resident said the scene “looked like a meteor hit the ground” after the jet, which had departed from Austin, Texas, slammed into a roadway.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed that all nine people aboard the aircraft were killed.
Miraculously, no people on the ground were reported killed or injured, according to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Shocking dashcam footage captured the jet plunging rapidly toward the ground before exploding into a towering fireball and cloud of smoke.
Air traffic control audio also captured a pilot aboard the doomed aircraft saying, “holy f–k, we’re out of time,” moments before the crash.
The impact scattered debris across a “significant distance” and prompted the evacuation of approximately 600 people, including residents of a nearby mobile home park, as federal investigators began examining the scene.
“Right now our priority is evacuating the adjacent community right behind. We have about 600 people that we have to make sure have shelter tonight, food,” Joel Flores, Palm Beach County commissioner for District 3, said at a Sunday evening press conference.
DeSantis called the crash “cataclysmic” and described it as a “tragic way to see people pass away.”
“Obviously, this was a cataclysmic plane crash. It looked like a missile going down. It left a big crater on the side of the road,” DeSantis told reporters.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it had dispatched a “go-team” to the scene, with investigators expected to arrive Sunday night and Monday morning.
