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Crime & Safety

Learjet crashes in South Florida, killing all nine aboard, transportation secretary says

Federal investigators are examining the cause, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says there are no reports of anyone on the ground hurt.

36 news outlets reported this
Liberal11 outletsCenter12 outletsConservative13 outlets
Published 4 min readMoney and daily life
Overview

A Learjet 60 business jet crashed at about 12:50 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1, near Military Trail in the Greenacres area of Palm Beach County, Florida. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said all nine people aboard were killed. The FAA said the plane had left Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was headed to North Eleuthera in the Bahamas.

Video showed the jet diving nose-first and exploding in a fireball that left a crater beside the road, close to homes. Military Trail was closed in both directions. County commissioner Joel Flores said the priority was evacuating about 600 residents.

Air traffic control audio has the pilot reporting ice and turbulence, then declaring mayday and saying the jet was descending 20,000 feet per minute. According to the FAA, the jet fell from 35,250 feet down to 8,750 feet over a span of just over a minute. Gov. Ron DeSantis said that, as of Sunday evening, there were no reports of anyone on the ground killed or injured.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating with FAA support. The cause has not been reported, and the victims have not been publicly identified. The NTSB planned a media briefing in West Palm Beach on Monday.

Three sides of the story

Liberal11 outlets

Left-leaning outlets lead with the death toll and the speed of the fall. The Independent reports that all nine aboard died, citing Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who called it a "horrific tragedy." It adds that the site is roughly eight miles from Mar-a-Lago while Trump was at a rally in Iowa.

It quotes Austin airport spokesperson Jim Reynolds, "This is definitely a tragedy," and describes witness video of the jet exploding on a major road "inches from passing cars." ABC News builds its report on FAA data: a 22-year-old twin-engine Learjet 60 that fell from 35,250 feet to 8,750 feet, which the FAA put at roughly 350 feet per second. ABC adds that, per records, the aircraft is owned by a private company that has rented it out before.

It says authorities had not yet given word on deaths and injuries. The New York Times reports that the Learjet plummeted to the ground, killing nine, and that in a radio call the pilot described a descent of 20,000 feet per minute.

Center12 outlets

Centrist outlets add detail from officials and the radio recordings. UPI reports that the pilot told Miami controllers about rain, "light, clear ice" and moderate turbulence before declaring mayday. It quotes DeSantis calling it a "cataclysmic plane crash" that "looked like a missile going down," and says Military Trail would be closed for "the foreseeable future."

Straight Arrow News gives the sheriff's office closure notice, county commissioner Joel Flores saying the priority is evacuating about 600 residents with the Red Cross on standby, and the NTSB's plan for a Monday briefing in West Palm Beach. Newsweek describes a mobile home community. Citing the Associated Press, it reports a dive that reached 30,000 feet per minute, past what the aircraft was designed to handle.

It also notes a flood watch for the area and says the FAA told it the NTSB will lead the investigation. The Journal reports that nine were killed when a Learjet flying from Texas to the Bahamas plummeted, citing authorities.

Conservative13 outlets

Right-leaning outlets put the cockpit audio and the Mar-a-Lago location up front. The New York Post headlines the crew's last message, "We're out of time," and prints the exchange with the controller, including "We're going to crash into the ground." It reports the jet was believed worth $2 million and registered to LR60271 LLC in Wilmington, Delaware, and cites Aviation 24/7 saying the crash sounded like a missile.

Fox News leads with the jet crashing miles from Mar-a-Lago, which it puts at around nine miles. It quotes Duffy's post about an FAA team supporting the NTSB and notes dashcam video of the jet descending and exploding. The Daily Wire calls the crash "Terrifying" and carries the audio.

It says a South Florida pilot who heard the crash told it the cause appears to be either a malfunction that made the pilot lose control or a loss of cabin pressure that left the pilot incapacitated. The outlet says it remains unclear how the jet crashed.

Money and daily life

For people near the site, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Military Trail, a major road in the area, would be closed for "the foreseeable future." Straight Arrow News reports that county commissioner Joel Flores said the priority was evacuating about 600 residents, with the Red Cross on standby.

All sources: 84 articles from 36 outlets

Liberal (24)

Center (27)

Conservative (33)

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