A terrifying new rear dashcam video captures a $2 million Learjet 60 locked in a near-vertical plunge before it slammed into a Greenacres, Florida, mobile home park Sunday afternoon, erupting into a massive fireball that witnesses compared to a missile strike.
The heart-stopping footage, shot from a vehicle traveling on a rain-slicked Military Trail under dark storm clouds, shows the twin-engine business jet, registration N722BD, streaking downward nose-first with its wings clearly visible against the gray sky. Moments later, a blinding orange-and-red explosion erupts beside the roadway, sending thick black smoke billowing skyward and debris scattering across the wet pavement as the driver exclaims in shock.
The jet, which departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas earlier that day bound for North Eleuthera in the Bahamas, had climbed to a cruising altitude of 41,000 feet before entering a steep, high-speed descent near Naples. Flight-tracking data recorded a maximum vertical speed exceeding 32,000 feet per minute, with the last reported altitude at 8,750 feet.
Authorities confirmed the crash occurred around 12:50 p.m. local time near Military Trail and 10th Avenue North in Palm Beach County. The aircraft struck a tree and downed power lines before demolishing at least one mobile home and gouging a fiery crater into the road.
Palm Beach County Fire Rescue declared it a mass-casualty incident. The FAA confirmed nine people were aboard the chartered Learjet 60. Multiple fatalities were reported, though it remained unclear whether anyone on the ground was among the dead. The exact cause of the sudden plunge is under investigation by the FAA and NTSB.
The crash site sits roughly six to nine miles from Mar-a-Lago. Roadways remained closed for hours as emergency crews worked the extended scene amid reports of power outages.
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