Private Gulfstream jet crashes in Dominican Republic, leaving massive plumes of smoke

Published: 00:01, 8 June 2026 | Updated: 00:28, 8 June 2026 A privately-owned Gulfstream jet has crashed in the Dominican Republic, killing the two crew members onboard and leaving massive plumes of black smoke wafting up into the air. The jet crashed Sunday afternoon at the La Romana International Airport, where firefighters were seen trying to douse the flames emanating from the wreckage as smoke billowed into the air. The US-registered aircraft had arrived in the Dominican Republic from Puerto Rico and, after refueling at La Romana, was headed to the city of Austin, Texas on a charter flight, according to Listin Diario.  But just minutes after takeoff, the crew reported problems that forced the pilot to attempt an emergency return to the airport.  Preliminary flight tracking data then showed the aircraft circling the airport before it attempted to land on the runway, according to Dominican Today.  It then lost stability and crashed within the airport terminal perimeter. The Gulfstream, belonging to an executive aviation company, had two crew members on board at the time who were pronounced dead at the scene.  Their identities have not yet been released.  A privately-owned Gulfstream jet has crashed in the Dominican Republic, leaving massive plumes of black smoke wafting up into the air The crash occurred at La Romana International Airport (pictured) Following the crash, members of the fire department, personnel from the airport's Fire and Rescue Service as well as members of the Specialized Airport and Civil Aviation Security Corps rushed to the scene to secure the area. At the same time, first responders and specialized technicians began gathering evidence to determine what exactly caused the crash.  Dominican aeronautical authorities will now open an investigation into the crash, which will include a probe into the nature of the failure the crew reported before attempting to return to the airport. This is a breaking news story and will be updated. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.