A business tycoon, his ceramicist wife, their two young daughters, a nanny and two friends have been identified as the passengers killed in a private jet crash.
Adam Robinson, 45, and his wife, Helen Sharp, 40, were on board the aircraft with their toddler daughters, Bella and Emma, when it crashed near West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday.
The family had been flying from their home in Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas, accompanied by their nanny and two friends who have not been publicly identified.
TMZ identified the captain as 55-year-old Jeff Gregory. Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, 20, was named as the co-pilot earlier Monday.
Robinson was an entrepreneur who founded the technology company Retention and frequently spoke publicly about building successful start-ups.
Sharp ran Influential PR, a communications firm, and owned Helen Sharp Ceramics, a successful pottery studio based in Aspen.
The Palm Beach Post reported Monday that it had spoken with the father of one of the victims, who said: ‘It’s quite a blow. We had a daughter, her husband and two grandchildren on the plane.’
An online profile says Robinson spent 10 years working on Wall Street before launching an artificial intelligence start-up called GetEmail.
Dashcam footage showed the Learjet 60 plunging nose-first into a highway intersection before erupting in flames. A man on the ground suffered a leg injury.
Audio also captured co-pilot Filgueiras screaming during a final exchange with air traffic control, while pilot Jeff Gregory could be heard reciting the Lord’s Prayer as the aircraft fell.
At a news conference Monday, National Transportation Safety Board officials said severe weather appeared to have been a ‘significant factor’ in the crash. They also said part of the jet may have separated before impact.
Adam Robinson, his wife Helen Sharp and their two young children are pictured. All four died in Sunday’s private jet crash.
Robinson, pictured here, and Sharp were identified by TMZ as passengers on the jet with their two young daughters.
Robinson and Sharp are pictured at left and second from left while attending a friend’s wedding.
Robinson and Sharp are shown enjoying a vacation in an undated photograph.
The couple are pictured on their wedding day in an image shared on Instagram.
Disturbing dashcam footage shows the Learjet 60 diving into an intersection before bursting into flames.
A fireball erupted when the Learjet struck the road at a speed some experts believe was close to supersonic.
Officials said the pilots requested permission to climb 2,000 feet after encountering a thunderstorm, shortly before the aircraft began spiraling toward the ground.
Some aviation experts have suggested that the jet may have reached what pilots call ‘coffin corner’ while attempting to climb above two storm systems.
The term describes the extremely narrow range between a safe minimum and maximum airspeed at high altitude. Flying too slowly or too quickly can cause an aircraft to stall or become uncontrollable.
Filgueiras, who grew up in Palm Beach County, had a strong interest in aviation. She was previously featured in a local media report after earning her pilot’s license in 2023 at the age of 17.
She told CBS12 that she ‘bragged’ about the achievement to her friends, saying they would tell her, ”Oh, you can’t drive,’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, but I can fly.”
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Her mother, Camila, often shared photographs of Filgueiras and her siblings traveling on private jets. 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.’
During the final moments of the flight, Captain Gregory could be heard saying, ‘who are in heaven, hallowed be thy name,’ in audio released from the air traffic control exchange.
As Gregory prayed, Filgueiras reported that the Learjet was flying at a 60-degree angle.
Filgueiras had a passion for aviation and was featured in a local media report after earning her pilot’s license in 2023 at age 17.
The crash left a huge crater in the middle of the road and damaged nearby infrastructure.
NTSB member Tom Chapman said Monday that the aircraft appeared to begin breaking apart before hitting the ground. He added that debris could be discovered 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, which was bound for the Bahamas, departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas at 10.37am ET on Sunday.
It was flying east at 35,000 feet when the pilot began reporting difficulties.
Controllers in nearby Miami had authorized the pilots to ‘deviate left and right’ around ‘moderate precipitation… to the southeast.’ They described the weather as ‘pretty nasty’ as the twin-engine business jet approached the area.
The controllers later reported ‘moderate turbulence,’ after which Filgueiras’s voice quickly became panicked as she realized the aircraft was in serious trouble.
The crater and debris field are visible at the crash site on Monday.
She said: ‘Seven two two bravo delta, we’re descending 8,000… mayday mayday… we’re descending 10,000ft per minute.’
Seconds later, she shouted: ‘Declaring emergency, declaring emergency, we are in an overspeed condition.’
Her distress intensified 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 calm her.
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.’
The Daily Mail has chosen not to publish the final seconds of the audio because they are extremely distressing.
Weather in the West Palm Beach area on Sunday afternoon was poor, with overcast skies, rain and lightning. Easterly winds reached 15 mph, with gusts approaching 25 mph.
Harrowing footage seen around the world showed the Learjet striking the road at a speed some experts believe was close to supersonic.
The aircraft was destroyed by the force of the impact, leaving a vast crater that began filling with water soon afterward.
