When the Learjet 60 plane crash turned a Florida neighborhood into a scene of destruction, viewers were surprised to see residents do something unexpected.
“It was a cataclysmic plane crash,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told reporters following the crash. “It looked like a missile going down.”
Residents were seen scrambling about in the aftermath, which looked like “a meteor” had struck the ground.
Residents described the terrifying moment the private jet crashed into their Florida neighborhood
Nine people, including children, lost their lives after the $2 million private jet plunged into the Greenacres mobile home community in Palm Beach County, Florida, around 1 p.m. on Sunday, November 1.
The aircraft was reportedly traveling from Austin, Texas, to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas when it crashed, clipping a tree and bringing down power lines.
Video footage captured the plane nose-diving straight into the ground.
“Debris was everywhere. Debris hit my house. Everything was on fire. The road was on fire,” resident Anthony Blackmon told NBC6.
Blackmon admitted he had only seen incidents like this on the news and never imagined this happening so close to his home.
“It shook the whole house. It went right over us and crashed probably less than half a mile from where I live,” another resident, Roger Forcelle, told the outlet.
Footage showed two residents walking barefoot near the burning wreckage
Several residents came out of their houses because of the massive fireball and smoke right outside their doors.
One resident said the crash site “looked like a meteor hit the ground.”
Another resident, Andrew Mannino, said he could smell the smoke and “saw a large black cloud immerse in the air.”
“I heard and felt the boom,” he told CNN. “The power immediately went out and is still out.”
ahmetyesiltepe, ai-assisted image
One clip circulating online captured a couple of residents walking barefoot, appearing to cross the damaged roadway just a few feet from the crash site.
The footage showed flames still burning, while the road had a massive crater left by the impact and debris scattered everywhere.
The residents’ lack of footwear quickly caught viewers’ attention, and many questioned why anyone would walk so close to the wreckage without shoes.
“Why is that girl walking barefoot?!” one exclaimed.
Another said, “Well, she’s also crying, so lord knows what she saw or idk. I’m not going to knock on her.”
Some netizens urged people not to be so quick to judge the residents, suggesting they may have rushed out of their homes without having time to put on shoes.
“I’m guessing it just happened and she had to get past. I wouldn’t really be thinking about my footwear if I just saw a jet crash in front of me,” said another.
“There is genuinely something seriously wrong with u if ur walking barefoot 2 feet from where a f***ing Plane Crashed,” read another comment.
Some defended the pair, saying they may have fled their homes in shock
One wrote, “Of all the things you can walk barefoot over, a burning airplane crash site is certainly one of them.”
“The whole neighborhood just got blown up, yah, some people might have not been prepared for it and left their houses with no shoes,” one said.
The crash is currently under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is examining whether ice buildup, turbulence, or human error contributed to the disaster.
Nine victims included a tech entrepreneur, his wife, and their young children
Family members of the victims released a statement, saying Texas tech entrepreneur Adam Robinson, his wife Helen Sharp, and their two children, Emma, 4, and Charlie, 2, lost their lives when the plane nose-dived around 27,000 feet in the span of one minute before flight tracking data cut off.
Rachael Reed, Charmi Fehr, and Anita Maria Cetina were also claimed as victims.
Jeff Gregory, 55, was identified as the plane’s pilot, while his co-pilot was identified as 20-year-old Nathalia Filgueiras, who earned her pilot’s license at 17, while still a high school senior.
Filgueiras was heard issuing desperate “mayday” calls while the fight descended at an alarming rate.
“We are in an overspeed condition, descending 20,000 feet per minute,” she screamed. “We’re going to crash into the ground.”
The 20-year-old copilot’s haunting final words revealed how desperate the crew had become
An air traffic controller was heard saying, “November two bravo delta, I’m here with you, talk to me.”
“We are descending 22,000 feet, and we are banking, 60 degrees … look outside,” the crew member responded.
With the disaster seemingly seconds away, screams of terror were heard as the crew member delivered the haunting final message: “Holy f***, we’re out of time.”
The wreckage had blocked the entrance to a mobile home park, leaving about 600 people needing shelter after evacuation.
Joel Flores, Palm Beach County commissioner for District 3, said the residents were being sent to two shelters in the county.
Authorities said it would take at least 30 days to repair damage to local infrastructure, including water lines, before the impacted road can reopen.
“Would it not be impossible for that captain to even speak if they were nose-diving at such speed to the ground?” one asked online
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