One person died and five police officers were hospitalized for smoke inhalation after a NetJets business jet crashed onto a highway in Laredo, Texas, late Tuesday night. The Cessna Citation Latitude twin jet, which departed from Los Cabos, Mexico, at 6:19 p.m., came to a stop on the Loop 20 highway near Laredo International Airport shortly after 10 p.m., according to the Laredo Police Department.
How the rescue unfolded
Witnesses and passing drivers attempted to rescue passengers as the aircraft burned on the side of the highway. Zayra Garza, who witnessed the crash, reported seeing occupants attempt to break the cockpit window to escape. According to Garza, drivers used a sledgehammer and shovel to strike the glass and prop open the plane’s door. Garza observed three people who appeared to be teenagers exit the aircraft, followed by a pilot and a crew member who attempted to pull an unconscious passenger from the wreckage. A firefighter later used a ladder to reach the remaining passenger, while officers were forced to retreat periodically due to intense smoke.
Why the crash is significant
This incident marks the third significant aviation accident in three days, following a B-52 crash at Edwards Air Force Base in California on Monday that killed eight people, and a Sunday crash in Missouri that resulted in 12 fatalities. The Laredo crash involved a NetJets aircraft, a company owned by Berkshire Hathaway that provides fractional ownership of private jets. Laredo International Airport Director Gilberto Sanchez stated the plane experienced a mechanical failure, though he provided no further details regarding the cause of the incident.
What happens next
Authorities are likely to continue investigating the exact nature of the mechanical failure identified by airport officials. Because the crash involved a commercial entity, the National Transportation Safety Board or other federal aviation regulators may initiate a formal inquiry into the flight’s maintenance records and the events leading up to the descent. It remains unclear whether the individual who died was an occupant of the plane or a person on the ground, a detail that investigators will likely clarify as the scene is processed and wreckage is removed from the Loop 20 highway.