A private jet carrying nine people was in serious trouble shortly before it plunged into a South Florida neighborhood Sunday afternoon. The crew had reported icing conditions, turbulence and precipitation before the aircraft rapidly lost altitude and crashed near Greenacres in Palm Beach County. Everyone aboard was killed.
The November 1 crash involved a Learjet 60 traveling from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas. The aircraft went down at approximately 12:50 p.m. near Military Trail, about seven miles southwest of West Palm Beach.
Among the seven passengers were Texas technology entrepreneur Adam Robinson, his wife, Helen Sharp, and their two young children, Emma, 4, and Charlie, 2. Relatives identified the family in a statement shared Monday. Their family friends, Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr, were also aboard, along with the children’s nanny, Anita Maria Cetina.
The other two people aboard were the pilots. Jeff Gregory was identified as the pilot by East Coast Jets, a private charter company where he had previously worked. His co-pilot, 20-year-old Nathalia G. Filgueiras, was identified by her family. She had earned her pilot’s license at just 17 and learned to fly under the guidance of her father, who is also a pilot.
The aircraft’s final communications with air traffic control have become a major part of the investigation. The crew reported icing, moderate turbulence and precipitation as conditions worsened. Investigators said the aircraft was experiencing a rapid descent shortly before the crash. The communications point to a serious emergency, but they have not yet established what triggered it.
Another troubling detail emerged when the National Transportation Safety Board reported evidence that the aircraft may have started breaking apart before impact. Investigators said pieces of the jet could be scattered across a wide area, making the recovery and examination of the wreckage more difficult.
Weather conditions are now among the main areas being examined. Heavy rain and thunderstorms affected South Florida around the time of the crash, and the crew had reported icing at high altitude. Investigators are working to establish the conditions the jet encountered and whether they contributed to the emergency. No official cause has been determined.
The crash site also presented a major challenge for emergency crews and investigators. The aircraft struck near a residential area, leaving a large impact crater and wreckage scattered around the neighborhood. Heavy rainfall filled parts of the crater with water, making it harder for investigators to reach and recover the main wreckage.
The impact forced approximately 600 residents from a nearby mobile home community to evacuate. Some were taken to shelters and spent the night away from their homes as authorities secured the area. Investigators also confirmed that one person on the ground suffered a leg injury.
Robinson was known as the founder and chief executive of several technology companies. His wife, their two children, their friends and their nanny were traveling with him when the aircraft crashed. The loss of all seven passengers has left several families grieving at the same time.
The NTSB has assembled investigators with expertise in aircraft structures, systems, weather and air traffic control. They are examining the wreckage and working to determine whether the cockpit voice recorder was still aboard the aircraft. If recovered, it could provide important information about the crew’s final moments.
Investigators expect the work at the scene to continue for several days. They have not announced a final explanation for the crash, and the investigation remains open. For now, the known facts point to a flight that encountered serious problems before ending in the deaths of nine people and the evacuation of hundreds of nearby residents.
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