A business jet crashed on a highway in Laredo, Texas, late Tuesday night, killing one person and injuring several others. The plane, a Cessna Citation Latitude twin jet, was operated by NetJets and was bound for Austin, Texas, from the Mexican resort city of San José del Cabo.

Rescue Efforts

Several motorists, including Ivan Franco and Zayra Garza, stopped to help the passengers. Franco used a sledgehammer to try to break the cockpit windows, while Garza recorded video of the rescue efforts. The police and firefighters also responded quickly to the scene, and their teamwork with the good Samaritans undoubtedly saved lives.

The crash occurred after the pilots reported mechanical problems and requested an emergency landing at a nearby airport. The fuselage came to rest across a concrete barrier, while its tail broke off and fell to a lower section of roadway.

One person, Joshua Baer, a leader in Texas’ technology and startup sectors, was killed in the crash. Three teenage passengers and two pilots survived, as did a person in a truck struck by the plane as it crashed.

Investigation

Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are leading the investigation.

The crash is the third significant aviation accident in as many days in the U.S. A B-52 crashed on Monday during a test flight at Edwards Air Force Base in California, killing all eight people on board. On Sunday, 12 people were killed when a plane on a skydiving outing in Missouri crashed.

Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.