Video: Chilling Footage Captures Private Jet Nose Dive, Explode into Fireball Killing 9

Nine people aboard a private Learjet have died after the aircraft they were travelling in plunged into a neighborhood in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Dash cam video captured the jet plummeting to the ground before exploding in a massive fireball.

The impact was so severe it left a crater in the street.

In air traffic control audio shared on social media, the pilot calmly states that the crew handles ice while facing moderate turbulence.

Moments later, the tone changes. The pilot declares a mayday, twice, and says the aircraft is descending at 10,000 feet per minute. The final words captured: The plane is going to crash into the ground.

The Learjet 60, registered in Delaware, was flying from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas when the crew began reporting weather and turbulence problems, according to CBS.

The aircraft's last broadcast data showed it at nearly 9,000 feet before it nosedived at a speed of more than 32,000 feet per minute.

Witnesses told CBS the crash sounded like a bomb going off. One resident said they first thought it was a missile.

Another said they did not want to believe it was a plane. While another who reached the scene said they saw no debris from the aircraft, which suggests how fast the jet may have been traveling.

About 600 people in the neighborhood were evacuated.

Investigation under way

The National Transportation Safety Board has reportedly sent a team of investigators to the crash site.

According to flight-tracking website Flightradar24, the plane climbed to a cruising altitude of 41,000 feet after departing Austin.

It later began descending near Naples, Florida, before a brief climb again and entering a steep right-hand descent.

All the nine people on board the private jet died following the steep dive that saw it slam into the ground at an estimated speed of 595km/h, according to The Times.

The Learjet 60, registered as N722BD, had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas en route to the Bahamas before disaster struck over Palm Beach County.