Business Jet Carrying Nine Crashes in Residential Area of Palm Beach County, Florida

A business jet carrying nine people crashed in a residential area of Palm Beach County, Florida, according to The Guardian. The crash produced a massive fireball on impact.

The aircraft was a Learjet 60, a small jet used for private and corporate travel rather than scheduled airline service. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the U.S. agency that oversees civil aviation, said the plane crashed around 12:50 p.m. local time, according to WGRZ.

The jet had departed from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was bound for the Bahamas, an island nation off Florida's southeast coast. The flight's route ended over a neighborhood of homes in Palm Beach County, the state's southeastern region along the Atlantic coast.

The incident was under investigation in the area of Military Trail, a road in the county, between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue, according to KHOU.

Business jets like the Learjet 60 are typically owned or leased by companies and individuals, and they can carry a small number of passengers over long distances on short notice. Their size and speed differ from commercial airliners, which is one reason their flights are often less visible to the public.