NTSB Investigators Head to the Greenacres Crash Site Monday Morning; Names of the Nine Who Died Still Not Released
A team of NTSB specialists is en route to Military Trail and Cresthaven Boulevard to gather evidence, the agency's West Palm Beach news conference still has no announced time or place, and as of 7:30 a.m. Monday authorities had not released the names of those who died.
WEST PALM BEACH — The federal investigation into Sunday's Learjet crash began in earnest Monday morning at the busy Greenacres crossroad where the jet came down, killing all nine people aboard. The National Transportation Safety Board announced Monday that a team of specialists is en route to the crash site to gather evidence and begin investigating, the Palm Beach Post reported in its Monday live updates file, and a spokesperson said the agency will hold a news conference in West Palm Beach — though it has not yet released the time or the place.
The jet, bound from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas, crashed at Military Trail and Cresthaven Boulevard at about 12:50 p.m. Sunday, exploding into a fireball when it landed and sending debris over a wide area. Gov. Ron DeSantis said it fell 'like a missile' from the sky. The crash took place on a stormy day in South Florida, with thunderstorms across the peninsula near Lake Okeechobee and winds from the east at 15 miles per hour gusting to as strong as 25.
What officials have not yet provided is who was lost. As of 7:30 a.m. Monday, authorities had not released the names of those who died, the Post reported, and DeSantis said there had been no reports of anyone on the ground either killed or injured by the debris. Military Trail remains closed at the site while the investigation proceeds, and John I. Leonard High School, near the crash site, is closed Monday.
