Jet may have broken apart before Florida crash, officials say, as family named among victims

Investigators believe parts of a private jet that crashed in Florida and killed all nine onboard may have broken off while it was in the air.

The Learjet 60 had been bound for the Bahamas from Austin, Texas when it nosedived into a multi-lane highway and exploded on impact.

A tech entrepreneur and his young family, as well as the 20-year-old co-pilot, were among those who died on Sunday.

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said weather conditions would be a major focus of the investigation but that it was struggling to access the wreckage due to the huge crater created by the jet on the road in Palm Beach.