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 effort to rescue passengers.
The aircraft, carrying six individuals, collided with moving vehicles as it went down on Loop 20 highway in Laredo around 10pm local time on Tuesday, as reported by the authorities.
Images depicted the small aircraft overturned with flames engulfing the rear and a thick smoke plume emerging following its impact against a barrier on the highway, causing the tail to separate from the fuselage.
Two civilians swiftly arrived at the scene with a sledgehammer and shovel, using them to shatter the cockpit glass to facilitate opening the plane’s door.
It remains unclear whether the deceased person was aboard the plane or on the ground. No injuries were immediately reported on the ground, but five officers were treated for smoke inhalation at a local hospital.
FlightAware data revealed that the aircraft was a Cessna Citation Latitude twin jet that took off from Los Cabos International Airport in Mexico at 6:19pm local time. The cause of the accident is still undetermined.
Zayra Garza, an aesthetician driving her colleagues home at the time, witnessed someone inside the plane attempting to break the cockpit window to escape. Subsequently, onlookers left their vehicles to help break the window from the outside.
Garza’s husband also joined the rescue effort, and eventually, the plane’s door was opened. Three individuals who appeared to be teenagers emerged, followed by someone resembling a pilot. Another crew member tried to extract an unconscious person.
“It felt like a scene from a movie. I was in shock,” Garza commented. She expressed concern about the fire, fearing it could have led to an explosion at any moment.
NetJets confirmed that the crash involved one of their aircraft and stated their cooperation with the authorities. The company, owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, offers fractional ownership of private jets.
Warren Buffett, a renowned billionaire with an estimated net worth of approximately $146.5 billion (£108 billion), is among the wealthiest individuals globally, ranking 10th according to Forbes Real Time Billionaires. Buffett, often known as the ‘Oracle of Omaha,’ amassed his fortune as the chairman and longtime CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, earning a reputation as one of the most successful investors in history.
