Mayday Over Greenacres: Nine Dead as Ice-Stricken Learjet Plunges Into Florida Neighborhood.

The jet fell within metres of homes and cars, leaving a crater, forcing about 600 residents to flee and raising urgent questions for federal investigators.

GREENACRES, Fla. – It took less than a minute for a calm Sunday afternoon in South Florida to turn into a scene of fire, smoke and shattered pavement. A private Learjet, its pilots crying for help over the radio, dropped out of the sky and hit the ground in a residential area. All nine people on board were killed, according to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

A flight that never reached the Bahamas

The Learjet 60 crashed in Palm Beach County at about 12:50 p.m. on Sunday, November 1.

It had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was bound for North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas, according to the FAA. The aircraft, registered as N722BD, went down near Military Trail and 10th Avenue North in Greenacres. The plane was a 22-year-old twin-engine jet.

Footage and reports from the scene describe a rapid vertical descent into a mobile home park. The impact brought down power lines and produced a huge fireball and a crater. The site lies about four miles south of Palm Beach International Airport.

The final minutes

Air traffic control audio has given the public a harrowing window into the crew's last moments. The crew first reported moderate turbulence and icing conditions, and then the transmission ended. The pilot described the ice as "manageable" before reporting that the plane was losing altitude fast. He then radioed that the aircraft was descending at 10,000 feet per minute and called "mayday" twice. His last words were, "We're going to crash into the ground." ‘Mayday, Mayday!’: Chilling final cockpit audio surfaces after Florida Learjet crash

Metres from disaster

By every account, the toll could have been far higher. The jet landed just metres from homes and cars, yet Governor Ron DeSantis said there appeared to be no casualties on the ground. Speaking from the scene, DeSantis called the crash "cataclysmic" and described the plane as falling like a missile. Palm Beach County Fire Rescue declared a mass casualty incident. On Monday, the governor said the crash had caused significant damage to surrounding infrastructure.

For residents, the aftermath has been disruptive and frightening. About 600 people from a nearby mobile home community had to evacuate and remained displaced on Monday. Evacuees were taken to the Greenacres Community Center on Swain Boulevard, and John I. Leonard High School, near the crash scene, was closed Monday while crews continued their work. Two shelters were on standby, and Palm Tran stood ready to transport residents once law enforcement allowed the evacuations to begin.

The victims

As of Monday morning, authorities had not publicly identified the people who died. One name has since surfaced in media reports. iHeartRadio reported that the dead included the 20-year-old co-pilot, Nathalia Gadelha. Because early reports on victims can change or carry spelling differences, official confirmation from authorities is worth waiting for before publishing names.

Bishop Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez of the Diocese of Palm Beach said he was praying for the victims' families and for the residents affected by the crash. A memorial Mass for the nine victims was scheduled for Monday morning.

What investigators will look at

The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation with help from the FAA, and the cause has not been determined. The FAA is sending a team to assist the NTSB. Investigators are expected to study weather radar, the crew's training and experience, the flight-control systems and recorded flight data before reaching any conclusion. The NTSB scheduled a news conference for 1 p.m. Monday.

The cockpit audio points investigators toward icing, but officials have not confirmed that as the cause. The crash site's proximity to Mar-a-Lago, about 5.7 miles away, also fueled speculation online. Unfounded rumors of an attack or hacking spread on social media. Investigators have offered no evidence to support them.

The crash is the deadliest involving a Learjet 60 on record, according to Flight Safety Foundation data.

A community in shock

For the families who lost loved ones, and for the hundreds of residents who watched a jet fall into their neighborhood, the questions are painfully simple: what went wrong, and how did so many people on the ground escape harm? The NTSB's findings are expected to take time. A preliminary report usually follows within weeks, but a final determination can take a year or more.

For now, Greenacres is counting its blessings and its losses together. Nine people are gone, but the homes, cars and families just metres from the crater were spared.