A married couple and their two young children were among nine people reportedly killed when a Learjet crashed in Florida.
Adam Robinson, 45, and his wife, Helen Sharp, 40, were traveling aboard the jet with their two toddlers when it went down near West Palm Beach on Sunday.
According to TMZ , the Texas-based family was flying with their nanny and two friends. The outlet identified the captain as 55-year-old Jeff Gregory.
The Palm Beach Post reported Monday that it had spoken to the father of one of the victims. He said: ‘It’s quite a blow. We had a daughter, her husband and two grandchildren on the plane.’
Robinson’s online biography says he spent a decade working on Wall Street before founding the artificial intelligence startup GetEmail. Sharp worked as a ceramicist.
Disturbing dashcam footage showed the Learjet 60 plunging nose-first into an intersection before erupting in flames.
Audio from the aircraft’s final moments captured co-pilot Nathalia Filgueiras, 20, crying out during a desperate exchange with air traffic control. A pilot beside her could also be heard reciting the Lord’s Prayer as the jet descended.
At a Monday news conference, National Transportation Safety Board officials said severe weather appeared to have been a ‘significant factor’ in the crash. Investigators also said an aircraft component may have separated before impact.
Adam Robinson, pictured, and his wife Helen Sharp, 40, were identified by TMZ as passengers on the jet with their two toddlers
Robinson and Helen Sharp are pictured on the left and second from left at a friend’s wedding
Dashcam footage captured the Learjet 60 plunging into an intersection before bursting into flames
A fireball erupted when the jet struck the ground
Investigators said the crew requested an additional 2,000 feet of altitude after encountering a thunderstorm, shortly before the aircraft spiraled toward the ground.
Filgueiras, who grew up in Palm Beach County, had a strong interest in aviation. She was featured in a local news report after earning her pilot’s license in 2023 at just 17.
She told CBS12 that she had ‘bragged’ about earning her license after friends teased her by saying, ”Oh, you can’t drive,’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, but I can fly.”
Her mother, Camila, frequently posted photographs of Filgueiras and her siblings traveling on private aircraft. Her father, Allan, also held a pilot’s license.
Camila told The New York Times: ‘She loved the freedom. It was completely different seeing the world from the top.’
In air traffic control recordings released after Sunday’s crash near West Palm Beach, an unidentified man could be heard reciting: ‘who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.’
As the man prayed, Filgueiras reported that the Learjet had reached a 60-degree bank, indicating that the aircraft was flying almost on its side.
Officials are examining severe weather and possible ice accumulation as potential factors in the crash. The $2 million business jet had been traveling from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas.
Filgueiras was passionate about aviation and earned her pilot’s license in 2023 at the age of 17
The impact carved a large crater into the roadway and damaged nearby infrastructure
NTSB member Tom Chapman said Monday that evidence suggested the aircraft began breaking apart before hitting the ground. He added that investigators expected to locate pieces of the jet some distance from the main crash site.
‘We do have some indication that the aircraft was breaking up before impact,’ Chapman said. ‘We may find parts of the aircraft some distance away from the actual impact site.’
The jet departed from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on its flight to the Bahamas. Airport spokesperson Jim Reynolds described it as a private aircraft.
The plane was cruising east at 35,000 feet when the pilot began reporting difficulties.
As the twin-engine business jet approached the area, Miami air traffic controllers authorized the crew to ‘deviate left and right’ around ‘moderate precipitation… to the southeast,’ which one controller described as ‘pretty nasty.’
Controllers later warned of ‘moderate turbulence.’ Filgueiras’s voice quickly became distressed as the crew realized the aircraft was in serious trouble.
The crater and debris scattered across the crash site are pictured Monday
She radioed: ‘Seven two two bravo delta, we’re descending 8,000… mayday mayday… we’re descending 10,000ft per minute.’
Moments later, she shouted: ‘Declaring emergency, declaring emergency, we are in an overspeed condition.’
Her voice became increasingly urgent as she reported: ‘Descending 20,000ft per minute… we’re going to crash into the ground.’
‘I’m here with you, talk to me,’ the air traffic controller replied in an effort to steady the situation.
Filgueiras then said: ‘We are descending 22,000ft, and we are banking 60 degrees.’ She screamed in her final transmission: ‘We’re out of time.’
Our News Outlet has chosen not to publish the final seconds of the recording because they are extremely distressing.
Conditions around West Palm Beach on Sunday afternoon were challenging, with overcast skies, rain and lightning nearby. Easterly winds reached 15 mph, with gusts approaching 25 mph. The National Weather Service in Miami reported visibility of seven miles.
