Florida jet crash witnesses describe boom, chaos after disaster - USA Today
A deadly business jet crash that killed all nine people aboard sent shockwaves through a South Florida community, leaving residents scrambling from their homes and wondering whether they had witnessed an attack.
The Learjet 60 crash occurred around 12:50 p.m. ET on Nov. 1 as the aircraft traveled from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas, according to authorities. The jet went down near Greenacres in Palm Beach County, scattering debris, sparking fires and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of residents living near the impact site.
Videos captured the aircraft nosediving near a busy roadway and the entrance to a mobile home community before erupting into flames. Federal investigators are still working to determine what caused the jet to go down.
Witnesses described a thunderous boom that shook homes, briefly knocked out power and sent neighbors rushing outside. For Armando Perez, a nighttime truck driver, the disaster began with a blast so powerful it jolted him awake.
"I thought, 'is this freaking Iran?'" Perez told the USA TODAY Network's Palm Beach Post, describing a force that shook his body like a gigantic subwoofer. Moments later, he heard neighbors screaming outside.
Resident Doug Schram also heard what sounded like an explosion after noticing a plane flying unusually low overhead. The blast was so powerful that power went out at his home for about 10 seconds, he said.
Perez, his mother and stepfather were among hundreds of residents evacuated from a nearby mobile home park after the crash. Authorities transported displaced residents by Palm Tran buses to the Greenacres Community Center, where many remained on Nov. 2 while investigators processed the scene.
Perez said his family had only moments to gather essentials before leaving, grabbing two days' worth of clothing, passports, wallets, phones and a blanket for their 3-year-old Chihuahua, Chupita. Mobile home park residents were ordered to evacuate without their vehicles.
After hearing the boom, Perez walked outside and initially felt confused. "It was raining just a few minutes ago, but now it was sunny," he recalled.
Perez said he later concluded the aircraft appeared to have broken through storm clouds as it plunged toward the roadway. The rain then returned and fell on the smoldering wreckage.
He said he was able to get within a few dozen feet of the crash site before emergency crews secured the area. The smell and heat were "oppressive," Perez said, recalling the odor of jet fuel spreading through the neighborhood.
According to Perez, the debris damaged homes and vehicles in the area.
Schram, who lives about a half mile from the crash site, said he heard an aircraft flying unusually low before a loud explosion rattled his neighborhood.
"God, did someone shoot a missile or drone over my house?" Schram recalled thinking, according to the Palm Beach Post.
When he rushed outside, a neighbor told him he had seen what appeared to be a "mushroom cloud of smoke and fire" rising near the crash site, Schram said.
The explosion was so loud that Scharm and his neighbor wondered whether it could have been a missile headed toward President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in nearby Palm Beach. Minutes later, they began hearing sirens approaching from miles away.
Neighbors running up the street told them it appeared a plane had crashed. Schram said he was shocked when he saw the crater left in the roadway.
