A private jet belonging to Warren Buffett crashed and caught fire on a busy Texas highway, resulting in one fatality and prompting bystanders to break the plane’s windows in an attempt to rescue passengers.
The incident occurred as the aircraft, carrying six individuals, collided with moving vehicles on Loop 20 highway in Laredo around 10 pm local time on Tuesday, according to police reports.
Visuals from the scene depicted the small plane overturned, engulfed in flames at the rear, and emitting a thick column of smoke after crashing into a highway barrier, causing the tail to detach from the fuselage.
Witnesses described how two civilians swiftly intervened by using tools to open the cockpit and assist in freeing passengers, while firefighters deployed a ladder to access the plane and evacuate the remaining occupants. Nearby officers struggled with respiratory issues due to the dense smoke.
The identity of the deceased individual remains uncertain, as there were no reports of injuries among bystanders, although five officers were treated for smoke inhalation at a local hospital.
Gilberto Sanchez, Director of Laredo International Airport, confirmed that the involved aircraft was a small private Cessna plane.
Flight data from FlightAware revealed that the plane took off from Los Cabos International Airport in Mexico at 6:19 pm local time, descending towards Loredo International Airport before losing signal at approximately 600 feet. The signal cut out about 2.5 miles short of the runway at 9:58 pm local time, as per Flightradar24 data.
Eyewitness Zayra Garza recounted the chaotic scene, mentioning how drivers and passengers came together to assist in the rescue efforts, ultimately managing to extract several individuals from the aircraft before the fire escalated.
NetJets, the company associated with the crashed aircraft and owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, is cooperating with authorities in the aftermath of the incident.
Warren Buffett, a renowned billionaire with an estimated net worth of approximately $146.5 billion (£108 billion), has amassed his wealth primarily through his leadership at Berkshire Hathaway, earning him the title of one of the world’s wealthiest individuals according to Forbes Real Time Billionaires.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation, and further details are awaited as authorities work to determine the circumstances surrounding the tragic event.