(VIDEO) Bahamas-Bound Learjet Plunges Into Florida Road in Fiery Crash, Killing 9 After Pilot's 'Mayday' Call

GREENACRES, Fla. — Federal investigators were at the scene Monday of a business jet crash in South Florida that killed all nine people on board, after the Bahamas-bound plane nose-dived onto a busy road and erupted into a fireball near homes.

The Learjet 60 went down at about 12:50 p.m. Sunday along Military Trail near Greenacres in Palm Beach County, according to federal and local officials. The plane had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was headed to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed that everyone on board was killed, calling the crash a "horrific tragedy" in a post on social media.

Authorities had not publicly identified the victims as of Monday morning, and the cause of the crash was not yet known.

'Cataclysmic' scene

Video circulating online showed the jet falling nearly vertically toward the ground beside a road before exploding into a ball of fire, narrowly missing cars and homes.

"It was a cataclysmic plane crash," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters near the scene Sunday.

DeSantis said the impact left a large crater on the side of the road and scattered a lot of debris over a significant distance. He also said the plane "looked like a missile going down."

There were no immediate reports of anyone on the ground being injured or killed, DeSantis said. He added that officials did not yet know whether any of the passengers or crew were Florida residents.

Final moments captured in radio calls

Air traffic control audio posted online captured the crew's final communications as the plane plunged toward the ground.

In the recordings, someone in the cockpit said the crew was managing ice and encountering moderate turbulence, and was seeking smoother conditions. The crew also asked to climb, according to The Associated Press.

Less than a minute later, the person issued a "Mayday" call and reported the plane was descending at 10,000 feet per minute. Seconds later, the crew declared an emergency as the descent rate reached 20,000 feet per minute.

Shortly afterward, the person said the plane was going to crash, reporting a descent rate of 22,000 feet per minute as the jet began to bank. Flight-tracking service Flightradar24 showed the plane's vertical descent rate at one point exceeded 32,000 feet per minute.

"We're out of time," the pilot can be heard saying shortly before the crash, according to the audio.

The plane banked sharply to the right before smashing into the ground.

Weather under scrutiny

Investigators are expected to examine whether weather played a role. The National Weather Service had a flood watch in effect for Palm Beach County through Monday afternoon, with rain expected on and off across South Florida.

The pilots reported turbulence, icing and precipitation before the crash, according to the radio transmissions. Officials have not said whether weather conditions caused or contributed to the accident.

Investigation underway

The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation with support from the FAA. The NTSB said it was sending a "go-team" of investigators to the site and planned a media briefing in West Palm Beach on Monday.

Investigators are expected to review weather conditions, possible icing, the aircraft's flight control systems and the actions of the pilots, as well as the plane's maintenance history.

Flight-tracking and registry data identify the aircraft as a Learjet 60 with the registration N722BD. FAA records list the owner as a Delaware corporation.

The Learjet 60 is a midsize business jet first certified by the FAA in 1993 and powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada turbofan engines.

The crash is the second-deadliest in the United States this year in NTSB records, according to CNN, after a skydiving plane crash in Butler, Missouri, in June that killed 12 people.

Residents displaced

The crash happened near the entrance to a mobile home park, leaving what Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel Flores described as a massive crater.

About 600 residents of the nearby mobile home community were evacuated to two shelters while investigators work at the scene. Flores warned that portions of Military Trail could face an extended closure.

Some residents said they were waiting for answers about when they could return home. Power went out in parts of the area after the crash.

Witnesses describe the impact

Witnesses described hearing a loud explosion and seeing flames and smoke rising from the crash site.

Anthony Blackmon, who lives about 500 feet from where the plane went down, said debris struck his home. "Debris hit my house. Everything was on fire," he told NBC Miami.

Driver Aki Kuusisto, whose dashcam captured the moment of impact, told CBS News he heard a whistling sound and a large bang before seeing a fireball, adding that the blast felt as though it were right beside his car.

Another resident told WPTV he initially thought the loud boom was thunder before seeing a large crater with water and fire coming from it.

Thick black smoke engulfed the area in the hours after the crash.

Near Mar-a-Lago

The crash site is less than 7 miles from Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump's resort home in Palm Beach. There was no indication the crash was connected to the president.

What comes next

The NTSB typically releases a preliminary report within about 30 days of a crash, with a final report on the probable cause taking a year or more.

Investigators will work to recover the aircraft's flight data and cockpit voice recorders, if they survived the impact, and will analyze the wreckage, radar data and air traffic control communications.

Officials have asked the public to stay away from the area as recovery and investigation work continues and roads remain closed.

The identities of the nine people killed are expected to be released once their families have been notified.