LAREDO, TX – A private business jet carrying six people crashed directly onto a busy Laredo highway and erupted into flames Tuesday night, leaving one person dead and triggering a chaotic, heroic rescue effort by local drivers.
Dramatic Highway Crash
The twin-jet Cessna Citation Latitude, operated by NetJets, crashed on the Loop 20 highway near the Texas-Mexico border shortly after 10:00 p.m. The aircraft had departed from Los Cabos, Mexico, earlier in the evening.
Laredo International Airport Director Gilberto Sanchez stated that the plane experienced a mechanical failure shortly before coming down near the airport. Dashcam footage captured the aircraft careening down the highway and striking a light post before slamming into a highway barrier, nearly shearing the fuselage in half.
Brave Bystanders Rush To Help
As the wreckage caught fire, dramatic scenes unfolded as everyday drivers stopped their cars and ran toward the burning plane to help. Inside the cockpit, a passenger was seen frantically trying to break the window from the inside.
Witnesses described a chaotic scene where bystanders arrived with a sledgehammer and shovel, striking the cockpit glass and using rods to prop open the plane’s door. Through their combined efforts, three teenagers and a pilot managed to escape the burning wreckage. A firefighter later used a small ladder to climb into the smoke-filled cabin to rescue the final remaining passenger.
Casualties And Injuries
Laredo Police Department investigator Jose Baeza confirmed that one person has died, though officials have not yet specified if the victim was a passenger on the plane or an individual on the ground.
No immediate injuries were reported among people on the highway, but five police officers were transported to a local hospital for smoke inhalation after repeatedly braving the intense smoke to assist in the rescue.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will be leading the investigation into the exact cause of the mechanical failure.
