Tech Millionaire, Wife, Toddlers And Nanny Among Learjet Crash Victims In US

Washington: Multimillionaire tech executive Adam Robinson, his wife Helen Sharp and their two toddlers were among the nine people killed in a business jet crash in Florida, United States, earlier this week. Federal investigators said the $2 million chartered Learjet 60 likely started breaking apart before it slammed into the ground and erupted in a fireball. The small jet reportedly did a steep nosedive, crashing outside a mobile home park 11 kilometres southwest of West Palm Beach, leaving a crater behind. Authorities said weather will be a key initial focus of the investigation, while the National Transportation Safety Board will also examine the actions of the crew and look for any mechanical problems with the plane.Apart from 44-year-old Robinson and Sharp, the victims of the horrifying crash included their children Emma, 4, and Charlie, 2. Also aboard were Robinson and Sharp's friends Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr and their nanny, Anita Maria Apellido Cetina.Twenty-year-old co-pilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, who made the final radio transmissions, and 55-year-old Jeff Gregory, the pilot in command, were also killed in the crash, according to a report by the New York Post. In an Air Traffic Control radio transmission, Gregory was heard reciting the Lord's Prayer as Filgueiras called 'Mayday'. Alle 9 slachtoffers van de vliegtuigcrash in Florida zijn geïdentificeerd: - Jeffrey Gregory, captain - Nathalia Filgueiras, copiloot - Adam Robinson, zijn vrouw Helen, en hun 2 kinderen Emma en Charlie - Charmi Fehr, zijn vrouw Rachel Reed, familie. - Anita Maria Cetina, nanny https://t.co/K6dWiSpFGD— Luk De Wilde (@lukdewilde) November 3, 2026About Those Killed In The CrashRobinson recently told the ProfitLed podcast that he and his family lived in Aspen, Colorado. He was a co-founder of Robly, an email marketing platform, and the founder of Retention.com, which uses technology to connect e-commerce website visitors to their email addresses.His LinkedIn profile showed Robinson had previously worked at Lehman Brothers and Barclays Capital. Sharp, meanwhile, was a ceramics artist who frequently shared videos of her works on her Instagram, as well as pictures of the couple's two sweet young children.The family, in a social media tribute post, said, "Adam and Helen were devoted parents, and Emma, 4, and Charlie, 2, were the light of their lives."Their friends, Reed and Fehr, "were full of joy and adventure. They loved their people fiercely, fully and without hesitation," the post read.It added that the family's nanny, Cetina, "cared for Emma and Charlie with tenderness and devotion, and she was truly part of the family. She showed us a legacy of unconditional love and devotion."What We Know Of ProbeThe plane was heading east when the pilot started to report problems. According to air traffic control recordings captured by LiveATC.net, the 20-year-old Gadelha Filgueiras said ice was accumulating on the jet and that turbulence was jolting it by as much as 700 feet (210 metres)."We have light, clear ice that is manageable and moderate turbulence," the pilot told controllers in a professional tone. The situation rapidly deteriorated, and within a few transmissions panic set in as the crew realised their fate.The pilot requested permission to climb another 2,000 feet (610 meters) and then quickly declared an emergency as the jet lost altitude at an alarming rate."We're descending 8,000 -- mayday, mayday -- we're descending 10,000 feet per minute," the pilot radioed."We are in an overspeed condition, descending 20,000 feet per minute," the pilot radioed. Moments later, the pilot said, "We're going to crash into the ground."Video of the crash showed the plane banking sharply to the right before crashing and exploding.National Transportation Safety Board member Tom Chapman said during a news conference that investigators found evidence the aircraft started breaking up before it hit the ground and that debris from the aircraft could be spread far and wide."We may find parts of the aircraft some distance away from the actual impact site," Chapman said.Jeff Guzzetti, a former investigator for the NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration, said key components of the jet's tail may have been lost during the turbulence or as it nose-dived, making the plane impossible to control."That very well could explain the missile-like profile just before it hit the ground," he said.Weather conditions will be a major focus of the investigation, Chapman said. Rain pounded the region on Sunday, and one of the pilots told air traffic control about icing conditions at a high altitude.The pilots were warned by controllers about the looming storms as they crossed into Florida, and the FAA published an official warning about the weather earlier. Chapman said investigators still have to determine what the weather conditions were at 35,000 feet (11,000 metres), the altitude the plane was flying at when the pilot started reporting problems.