Nine killed as Learjet crashes in Florida's Palm Beach County

A Learjet carrying nine people took off from Austin, Texas, bound for the Bahamas, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, ABC News reported.

The flight ended in a residential area of Palm Beach County, Florida, on Sunday, November 1. Sky News reported that all nine people aboard were killed.

Video of the November 1 crash showed the aircraft diving nose-first toward the ground, according to The Independent. It then erupted into a massive fireball.

The crash occurred near a busy roadway in a South Florida neighborhood. The South China Morning Post described a large, fiery crater and reported that the aircraft appeared to narrowly miss homes.

Accounts of damage to nearby homes differed. The New York Post reported that the jet apparently demolished at least one mobile home, while KYTV carried a report describing the aircraft as appearing to just miss homes.

Initial coverage left the casualty count uncertain. Il Post reported that the number of dead and injured was not yet clear. Subsequent reports, including Business Insider, said authorities confirmed that all nine people aboard had died.

The reported death toll is nine, all aboard the aircraft. Adnkronos also reported that all the victims were on the jet, which had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport for the Bahamas.

The FAA is investigating the crash. What led to the aircraft's plunge was not immediately known, The New York Times reported. The available coverage does not establish the full extent of damage on the ground.

The central unanswered question is what caused the jet to dive. The footage documents its final descent, but the reports provided do not establish why it happened.

Further confirmation of ground damage is also needed to resolve the differing accounts of whether the aircraft struck a mobile home or narrowly missed nearby homes.