Cockpit Recording Captures Final Panic on Crashed Florida Jet as 600 Residents Are Moved Out

A recording of the final moments in the cockpit of the Learjet 60 business jet that crashed in Florida has emerged, in which the crew, after reporting that the plane was rapidly losing altitude, say in panic that they are going to crash into the ground. Officials also said about 600 residents of a trailer park near the crash site were being moved out.

The plane crashed at about 12:50 p.m. local time on Sunday near the Cresthaven area of Palm Beach County. All nine people on board the jet, which had travelled from Austin, Texas, bound for the Bahamas, were killed. The crash site is about nine miles, or 14 kilometres, from President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort.

In the cockpit recordings retained by LiveATC.net, the pilot is first heard talking about ice issues he described as manageable. He later said the plane was rapidly losing altitude, and shortly afterwards the panicked crew said, "We're going to crash into the ground."

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement that the Learjet 60 had set out from Austin for the Bahamas. Austin-Bergstrom International Airport confirmed it was a private jet but did not say who was on board. Analysis of the aircraft's flight path showed it was descending by several hundred feet per second before it crashed.

Videos circulating online appear to show the jet striking the ground at high speed and at a sharp angle, followed by a huge explosion, reports said, though the authenticity of one dashboard-camera video shared on social media could not be confirmed. Footage of the aftermath showed flames flickering around debris and chunks of pavement, with people milling around the area.

Photographs of the site showed a large crater in a road in a residential neighbourhood, with scorch marks spread around it and wreckage of the plane, pieces of concrete and other debris scattered across the road. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said the crash happened on Military Trail, a six-lane road lined with businesses and eateries. The plane came down just metres from homes and cars.

Speaking from the scene, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told reporters there appeared to be no casualties on the ground. Describing the crash as cataclysmic, he said the plane "looked like a missile going down, and left a big crater on the side of the road." At a press conference he added that the video was chilling to watch, with a huge explosion scattering debris everywhere after the aircraft came down like a missile.

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy described the crash in a post on X on Sunday as a horrific tragedy. He said FAA staff were on their way to the site to support a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation, and he asked people to pray for the families of those who were lost.

Palm Beach County Fire Rescue declared the incident a mass-casualty event. Governor DeSantis said it was still not known who was on board the aircraft.

At the press conference, DeSantis and local officials said about 600 residents of a trailer park near the crash site were being evacuated. The impact caused extensive damage to infrastructure in the area, including a water supply pipeline, and the damaged road could take at least 30 days to reopen.

A storm was reported in the area at the time of the crash, and heavy rain was still falling during the press conference.

President Trump had been at Mar-a-Lago on Sunday morning. About an hour before the crash, he left from a nearby airport aboard Air Force One.