Investigators probe why a business jet crashed on Texas highway

Investigators comb through wreckage for clues to why a business jet crashed on a Texas highway, killing one person on board after its pilots reported mechanical problems while requesting an emergency landing at a nearby airport.

The fiery crash late Tuesday in Laredo near the Mexican border sent bystanders racing from their cars to help police rescue passengers and crew from the burning aircraft.

The crash killed Joshua Baer, a leader in Texas' technology and startup sectors, the president of Baer's company told the Austin American-Statesman.

Local officials said a firefighter entered the smoke-filled jet to extract one person still inside after the rest had escaped.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known.

The US Federal Aviation Administration is investigating along with the National Transportation Board.

Local authorities praised the efforts of first responders.

DR. VICTOR TREVINO: "While the loss of life is deeply regrettable, it is nothing short of a miracle that this tragedy did not become a mass fatality event."

MIGUEL RODRIGUEZ, Chief of Laredo Police Department: "The officers that initially got there, the first thing was the safety of life and making sure that the safety of the public was already intact. But as you can see in several videos that were put on social media, there was a good Samaritans as well there that helped in getting the individuals involved in this plane crash out of that plane."