Jet Crashes Near Mar-a-Lago, Killing Nine in Seconds-Long Descent VIDEO

A private jet heading to the Bahamas plunged into a South Florida neighborhood after its crew reported severe weather, icing and a catastrophic loss of altitude. The aircraft’s final radio transmissions captured a desperate fight to regain control before impact

The final moments of a private jet bound for the Bahamas unfolded in less than a minute, ending with a desperate mayday call, a warning that the aircraft was about to hit the ground and a fiery crash that killed all nine people on board near Mar-a-Lago.

The Learjet was cruising at 35,000 feet Sunday after departing Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas when the flight crew began reporting worsening conditions over South Florida. According to air traffic control communications and flight-tracking data, the pilots encountered turbulence, icing and precipitation, prompting a request to climb an additional 2,000 feet.

Instead, the flight entered a sudden and catastrophic descent.

Radio transmissions captured the crew’s mounting alarm as the aircraft rapidly lost altitude. At one point, the pilot reported the jet was descending at a rate of 10,000 feet per minute and issued multiple mayday calls. The situation deteriorated so quickly that only seconds separated the first distress message from the aircraft’s final transmission.

“We’re going to hit the ground,” the pilot warned.

Roughly 35 seconds after the initial emergency call, the last words heard from the cockpit were: “We don’t have time.”

Moments later, the aircraft slammed into a residential area near Cresthaven, not far from President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, erupting into a massive fireball visible for miles.

Videos circulating on social media show the jet plunging almost vertically before exploding near a roadway. The footage appears to capture the aircraft narrowly missing passing vehicles and coming dangerously close to nearby homes. Other images recorded by witnesses show flames spreading across the crash site and a large crater carved into the ground by the impact.

The violence of the crash stunned local officials.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis described the accident as a “catastrophic plane crash,” telling reporters it appeared as though the aircraft had fallen “like a missile” before striking the ground and leaving a significant impact crater.

The jet had been headed to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas when the disaster occurred at approximately 12:50 p.m. local time. No survivors were reported.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called the crash a “horrible tragedy” as federal investigators began examining the sequence of events that turned a routine international flight into a fatal accident.

Authorities have not determined what caused the aircraft to lose control. Investigators are expected to focus on the adverse weather conditions reported by the crew, the aircraft’s rapid acceleration and descent, and the final communications transmitted from the cockpit before impact.

For now, the clearest account of what happened comes from the pilots themselves: a crew confronting a rapidly escalating emergency, fighting for control of their aircraft and realizing, only seconds before impact, that time had run out.

(Photo and video: © AndKronos)