A Learjet 60 crashed in Palm Beach County, Florida, on Sunday, and all nine people aboard were killed. Sean Duffy confirmed the deaths and called the wreck “una horrorosa tragedia.”
The plane had left Austin, Texas, this morning and was headed to the Bahamas when it went down in a residential area near Cresthaven, close to 10th Avenue North and Military Trail. The Palm Beach County fire department described the scene as an “incidente extenso,” and the FAA said there was still no clarity on how many people may have been affected on the ground.
That uncertainty matters because the crash happened in a neighborhood, not in open country, and the numbers on the ground are still not settled. Mar-a-Lago was about 6 miles, or 9.6 kilometers, away by car, but the plane did not crash there. Donald Trump was not at Mar-a-Lago on Sunday, having traveled to Iowa and Kansas for campaign rallies.
False claims spread online that the aircraft had been hit by a missile, but authorities denied that account. Ron DeSantis said he was impressed by video of the scene and mourned the deaths, adding, “Saber que había personas a bordo lo hace todavía más trágico.”
What remains unanswered is the cause of the crash itself. For now, the confirmed facts are stark enough: nine dead aboard a Learjet 60, a residential crash site near Palm Beach, and an investigation that still has not explained how the flight from Austin ended so badly.
