Nine people have died after a private jet crashed and burst into flames on a busy highway in Florida on Sunday. The small aircraft was flying from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas when it suddenly plunged towards the road.
The crash involved a Learjet 60. The plane struck a multi-lane highway and exploded. All nine people on board died. The crash has shocked families, friends and people in the aviation world.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is now looking into the cause of the disaster. Investigators are checking whether ice and strong air movement played a part. They are also looking at possible human error.
The victims included a Texas tech business owner, his wife, their two young children, three women and two pilots. Families and friends have shared memories of those who died.
Adam Robinson, his wife Helen Sharp and their children, Emma, 4, and Charlie, 2, were among the victims. Their deaths were confirmed in a joint statement from some of the affected families.
The family described Adam and Helen as devoted parents. They said their two children were the centre of their lives.
“Helen and Adam were the love affair that will last forever,” the statement said. It also praised their warmth, kindness and ability to make others feel welcome.
Robinson was a well-known figure in the technology business. His LinkedIn profile described him as the founder and chief executive of RB2B and Retention.com. He also served as the chief executive of Moltsets.
Before moving into the technology sector, he worked at Lehman Brothers and Barclays. Both are major names in the global financial services industry.
His death has also drawn tributes from people who worked with him. Tech entrepreneur Jesse Ouellette shared a message about their friendship. He said Robinson had supported him while he was building his own company.
Ouellette described him as a friend who shared his views on how to build software businesses. He also said Robinson could disagree with people and still leave them feeling valued.
Robinson’s final LinkedIn post was published on Sunday. It discussed a debate that he and Ouellette had planned for the following week.
Helen Sharp was an artist, according to media reports. Her father, Dudley Sharp, said the news had deeply affected the family. He confirmed that his daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren were on the plane.
Three other women, Rachel Reed, Charmi Fehr and Anita Maria Cetina, were also killed in the crash.
Reed and Fehr were praised in the family statement for their joy and love of adventure. The statement said they cared deeply for their friends and loved ones. It also spoke of the strong bond they shared.
Their exact relationship with Robinson and Sharp was not clear at the time of the report.
Cetina was also remembered with deep love. The family said she cared for Emma and Charlie with great kindness and devotion. They described her as a true part of the family.
The statement praised her care and said she had shown them the meaning of unconditional love.
The pilot was identified as 55-year-old Jeff Gregory. East Coast Jets, a private charter firm where he had worked, confirmed his death.
A company spokesperson said Gregory had worked there for a short time in 2016 and 2017. The firm also shared its sadness over the loss of the captain in the Palm Beach aviation disaster.
The copilot was identified in US media reports as 20-year-old Nathalia Filgueiras. She had earned her pilot’s licence at the age of 17 while still in high school.
Her mother, Camila Corteleti, confirmed that her daughter had died in the crash. She told the New York Times that Nathalia loved flying and enjoyed seeing the world from above.
In a 2023 interview with a local television station, Filgueiras spoke about earning her pilot’s licence before finishing high school.
She said she liked being different from other people. She also joked that some people found it strange that she could fly a plane but could not drive a car with the same ease.
Her early success showed how much she loved aviation. Her death has added to the grief surrounding the crash.
Investigators are now working to establish what happened during the flight. Their review will examine the weather, the aircraft and the actions of the crew. The findings may help explain why the jet suddenly lost control and struck the highway.
For the families, however, the focus remains on remembering the nine people who lost their lives. Their stories have revealed a group of people whose lives were cut short in a sudden and devastating accident.
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