A tragic incident unfolded on a highway in Laredo, Texas, late Tuesday night when a business jet, carrying six individuals, crashed and burst into flames. The crash claimed one life and sparked a chaotic scene as bystanders scrambled to assist those trapped inside the burning aircraft.
In the immediate aftermath, witnesses captured compelling footage and rushed to the scene to offer aid. Some bystanders armed themselves with a sledgehammer and a shovel, using them in desperate attempts to break the cockpit window and pry open the plane’s door to rescue passengers.
The crash occurred on the Loop 20 highway, near the Texas-Mexico border, shortly after 10 p.m., according to Jose Baeza, an investigator with the Laredo Police Department. Authorities are still determining whether the deceased was among those on the plane or someone on the ground.
Dashcam footage shared on social media depicted the dramatic moments as the aircraft barreled down the highway, colliding with a light post before coming to a halt not far from Laredo International Airport.
“It felt like a scene straight out of a movie. I couldn’t believe my eyes,” recounted Zayra Garza, an esthetician who witnessed the crash while driving her colleagues home.
No injuries on the ground were immediately reported, though five officers were taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation.
The plane was a Cessna Citation Latitude twin jet, according to information from FlightAware, an aviation tracking and data company. It departed from Los Cabos International Airport in Mexico at 6:19 p.m.
It’s not clear what caused the crash as it reached Laredo, about 140 miles (225 kilometers) southwest of San Antonio. Laredo International Airport Director Gilberto Sanchez told KGNS TV in Laredo that the plane experienced a mechanical failure. He provided no details.
Video posted to social media showed the plane on its side, smashed into a highway barrier. The tail was ripped from the fuselage and laying mostly intact on a lower-level road beneath where the rescue was taking place.
Garza began shooting video as she approached the scene and then stopped her vehicle across from the crippled jet, which was on fire.
She saw someone inside the plane trying to break the cockpit window to escape. Soon, people got out of their vehicles to try to smash the window from the outside as the fire on the fuselage continues to burn.
Garza’s husband jumped out of their vehicle to help and Garza then saw the door of the plane open. She said three people who looked to be teenagers rushed out, followed by someone who appeared to be a pilot. Another member of the crew tried to pull out a person who seemed to be unconscious.
As smoke billowed from the plane, a firefighter used a small ladder to climb into the aircraft to rescue the remaining passenger, while others shot water out of a hose at the wreckage. Rescuers can be heard calling for a rope as others use rods to hold up the plane door.
Several times, officers helping prop open the door dart away from the plane and double over in coughing fits because of the intense smoke.
“What was worrying me was the fire,” she said. “I was concerned that it could have just exploded at any time.”
This was the third significant aviation accident in as many days. A B-52 crashed Monday during a test flight at Edwards Air Force Base in California and killed all eight people aboard, while on Sunday, 12 people were killed when a plane on a skydiving outing in Missouri crashed.
NetJets said in a statement that the crash involved one of its aircraft and it is working with authorities. NetJets is owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway and allows people to buy part ownership in private jets.