Small plane crashes on Texas highway
One person died and five were injured when a NetJets business jet with mechanical issues crashed on a South Texas highway after losing contact with air traffic control
ATT Desk Report 
A business jet with six people crashed on a highway in South Texas Tuesday evening, with bystanders jumping in to assist emergency services in rescuing passengers from the burning wreckage reports CNN.
One person was killed and five others were injured after the plane crashed on Laredo’s Loop 20 highway, shutting down traffic in both directions and strewing debris across multiple lanes.
It was unclear if the person who died was on the plane or the ground.
Video shared by a witness from the scene showed emergency responders attempting to crack open the plane’s windshield as authorities and bystanders assisted several people out of the burning aircraft. Some were seen walking away after escaping the aircraft.
The plane, a NetJets-operated Cessna Citation Latitude business jet, had departed San José del Cabo, Mexico, at around 6:18 p.m. local time and was bound for Austin, Texas, before diverting toward Laredo, along the US-Mexico border, according to flight data from FlightRadar24.
Authorities responded to the scene shortly before 10pm local time after receiving a call from the local airport tower after the plane reported mechanical issues, Laredo Police Public Information Officer Jose Baeza told reporters from the scene. The plane lost contact with air traffic controllers before it crashed the highway, hitting a moving vehicle on its descent, he said.
FlightRadar24 data shows a steady, controlled descent into Laredo International Airport, until the signal cut out at around 600 feet, roughly two and a half miles short of the runway, at about 9:58pm local time.
Laredo International Airport Director Gilberto Sanchez also told to media the aircraft experienced a mechanical failure before crashing. Police did not reveal the identities of the six on board or the condition of those injured. The victims have been transported to a local hospital.
“Regrettably and tragically, there is one deceased involved in this crash,” Baeza told reporters from the scene, without giving further details as the victim’s family is being notified.
Federal agencies, including the National Transportation Security Board and the Federal Aviation Administration, have been notified and officers with the Federal Bureau of Investigation are already on-site, Baeza said.
