Particle.news
Download on the App Store

NetJets Business Jet Crashes on Laredo Highway, Killing One

Federal investigators are probing pilot reports of mechanical trouble while wreckage and flight data are examined

Overview

  • A NetJets-operated Cessna Citation Latitude carrying six people crashed onto Loop 20 in Laredo, Texas, late Tuesday night, striking a vehicle and bursting into flames.
  • Pilots radioed the local airport reporting mechanical problems that included low fuel and an electrical or power outage before the flight-tracking signal ended around 600 feet on final approach.
  • One person was killed and five people from the aircraft were hospitalized; five police officers were treated for smoke inhalation and a motorist hit by debris was taken to hospital in stable condition.
  • Motorists, police and firefighters forced open the fuselage and used tools to free survivors from the burning jet in widely shared video of the rescue.
  • The NTSB is leading the federal investigation with support from the FAA and FBI, NetJets is cooperating and has deployed crisis teams, and investigators will examine wreckage, records and flight data to determine probable cause.