A family of four, a caretaker and a couple have been identified as passengers in the private Learjet that nose-dived Sunday onto a South Florida roadway, killing all nine on board.
The family has been identified as Adam Robinson, Helen Sharp and their two children — Emma, 4, and Charlie, 2.
Mr. Robinson, 45, was a tech entrepreneur, co-founder of Robly and CEO of Retention.com.
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Anita Maria Cetina, who helped care for the children, was also identified by the victims’ families.
Two other victims were identified as Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr.
The captain of the Learjet, Jeff Gregory, 60, was a former member of East Coast Jets Inc., an aviation company in Allentown, Pennsylvania, according to his former employer.
The co-pilot was identified by her parents as Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, 20, who received her pilot license in 2023. She earned her license as a 17-year-old senior at West Boca Raton Community High School, according to news reports.
On Sunday morning, the plane took off from Austin, Texas, bound for North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
After communicating with air traffic control about ice and moderate turbulence, the aircraft began rapidly descending with a reported fall of 350 feet per second, about 21,000 feet per minute, according to the FAA.
Within a minute of a pilot declaring a mayday emergency, the jet crashed at about 12:50 p.m. in Palm Beach County.
The National Transportation Safety Board, which is leading a federal investigation into the crash, said there was some indication that the aircraft began breaking up in midair before impact.
The cause of the crash is still unknown, and which pilot was at the controls when it began falling has not been confirmed.
Bystanders who filmed the incident caught the moment the 22-year-old twin-engine jet plunged from the sky, exploding into the roadway. Its aftermath left a crater and a plume of black smoke.
One man on the ground “immediately adjacent” to the crash site sustained a leg injury, according to the NTSB.
Those in the aircraft did not survive.
The families of passengers shared an emotional joint statement honoring the victims and expressing solidarity with the flight crew’s relatives.
“Adam and Helen were devoted parents,” the statement reads, adding that their children were the “light of their lives.”
The parents were a “love affair that will last forever,” the families said.
“Their warmth, generosity and gift for making people feel welcome touched so many lives. Their loss will be felt deeply by all those who loved them and who they loved in return,” they continued.
Ms. Cetina “cared for Emma and Charlie with tenderness and devotion, and she was truly part of the family,” the statement said. “She showed us a legacy of unconditional love and devotion.”
The second couple was “full of joy and adventure.”
“They loved their people fiercely, fully and without hesitation,” the statement reads. “From the moment they met, they were all in on each other and the life they were building. They are deeply loved, and we will miss them endlessly.
“We are deeply grateful to the first responders, investigators, and the Palm Beach County community for their care, and to everyone who has reached out with love. Our hearts are also with the families of the pilots, who are grieving alongside us.”
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