Learjet crash: Parts of plane may have come off before crash

All nine people on board a business jet were killed when it plummeted to a roadway near a South Florida neighborhood.

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Amazingly, the plane, a Learjet 60 en route to the Bahamas, missed homes in Greenacres, Palm Beach County, Florida, and instead struck the nearby highway, The Associated Press reported.

Plane may have broken up before crash

Update 1:56 p.m. ET, Nov. 2: Officials are still trying to determine the cause of the crash, but they’re having a significant challenge, CNN reported.

“The biggest obstacle that we’re going to have is recovering the major wreckage from the impacted crater on the roadway,” NTSB Senior Air Safety Investigator Tim Monville said.

“We do have some evidence that there was some breakup of the aircraft before impact. We’re still seeking to determine that,” NTSB Member Tom Chapman said, according to CNN. “We may find some parts of the aircraft some distance from the crash site.”

Meanwhile, officials have yet to identify those killed, but the family of Nathalia Gadelha identified her as one of the victims, saying she was the co-pilot, CNN reported.

“She was a very good girl – responsible, hardworking,” her mother, Camila Gadelha Corteleti, told CNN Brasil. “She was the co-pilot and couldn’t make any decisions.” The family was from Brazil but lives in Florida.

Original report: While all on the plane were killed, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said there were no reports of people on the ground being injured or killed. The plane came down feet from homes and businesses, CNN reported.

He said the plane “looked like a missile going down” and left “a big crater on the side of the road.”

About 600 people had to be sent to shelters because the damage on the ground is blocking the entrance to their mobile home park, according to CNN.

“I heard and felt the boom,” Andrew Mannino told CNN. “The power immediately went out and is still out.” He also said he smelled smoke and saw a large black cloud.

The flight had left Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was at 35,000 feet when pilots said the aircraft hit turbulence, icing, and precipitation. They asked to climb another 2,000 feet, the AP reported.

“We have light, clear ice that is manageable and moderate turbulence,” the pilot said.

Moments later, it went into a steep dive — initially at 10,000 feet per minute.

“We’re descending 8,000 – mayday, mayday - we’re descending 10,000 feet per minute,” the pilot radioed.

The plane then fell 20,000 feet per minute, then finally nearly 30,000 feet per minute, much higher than its design limits, the AP said.

The pilot declared an emergency and issued a distress call before making a sharp right and hitting the ground.

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating. Officials have not said what caused the crash or identified the victims, CNN reported.