Pilot's Last Words Before Jet Crashes in US, Killing All 9 on Board
- A Learjet crashed into a residential area near Cresthaven, Florida, killing all nine people on board after departing from Austin, Texas
- The pilot declared a mayday and reported the aircraft was descending at 10,000 feet per minute before the jet disappeared from radar
- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy both responded to the crash site as federal investigators launched a probe
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A business jet crashed into a residential neighbourhood in Florida on November 2, 2026 killing all nine people on board after the pilot radioed a desperate mayday call moments before impact.
The Learjet went down near Cresthaven at around 12.50pm local time, erupting into a large fireball close to passing vehicles on a major road and just metres from nearby homes. No one on the ground was reported injured or killed.
Source: Getty Images
According to Sky News, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the death toll and called the incident a "horrific tragedy," adding: "Please join me in praying for the families and loved ones of those we lost."
What the pilot said before the crash
The aircraft had taken off from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was bound for North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas. Cruising at 35,000 feet, the pilots contacted air traffic control to report turbulence, icing and precipitation, and asked permission to climb a further 2,000 feet.
Shortly afterwards, the jet entered a steep dive that pushed it beyond its structural speed limits, according to flight tracking data and air traffic control recordings.
"We're descending 8,000 — mayday, mayday — we're descending 10,000ft per minute," the pilot radioed to controllers. "We're going to crash into the ground."
Roughly 35 seconds after the initial mayday call, the final transmission from the cockpit was: "We're out of time."
Jim Reynolds, a spokesperson for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, confirmed the aircraft was a private plane but was unable to provide details about those on board.
Scene of the crash
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who visited the site, described the scale of the destruction: "It was a cataclysmic plane crash. It looked like a missile going down and left a big crater on the side of the road."
He said debris was scattered across a significant distance. Video footage showed the aircraft nose-diving before bursting into a fireball close to passing traffic, appearing to narrowly miss residential buildings.
Road closures were put in place with no timeline for reopening given. Palm Beach County authorities evacuated around 600 residents from a nearby mobile home community while investigations got under way. A woman working in the area said electricity had been cut for about two hours following the crash.
The National Weather Service had already issued a flood watch for the region through Monday afternoon, with heavy rain falling across the area on the day of the crash.
The Federal Aviation Administration is sending a team to support the National Transportation Safety Board's investigation, according to Secretary Duffy.
People dead in plane crash near Trump’s home
Legit.ng earlier reported that a business jet carrying nine people nose-dived into a South Florida neighbourhood Sunday, November 1, and erupted into a giant fireball that appeared to just miss homes near a busy roadway. Everyone on board was killed, the nation's transportation secretary said.
Source: Legit.ng
