Florida jet crash kills all nine aboard, says US transportation secretary

Seven adults and two children on board a business jet that slammed into a Florida residential neighbourhood were all killed, the US transportation secretary said as federal authorities opened an investigation.

A Learjet 60 wrecked on Sunday close to Greenacres, in Palm Beach County, after leaving Austin, Texas, for the Bahamas, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The plane nosedived into the ground next to a busy street, igniting into a ball of flames just short of several homes and passing cars.

Duffy called it a “horrific tragedy” and that the FAA will send a team to assist the The National Transportation Safety Board probe.

Explosions and flames sent bystanders running from the scene. ‘It was a catastrophic plane crash,’ DeSantis said to reporters at the scene.

He said the pilots had radioed in an indication of icing and the presence of rain and heavy turbulence prior to the aircraft entering a steep descent. The pilot announced an emergency.