Florida Learjet crash: Parts likely broke off mid-air, 9 victims identified

Mid-Air Breakup Suspected in Florida Learjet Crash

It was a cataclysmic plane crash. It looked like a missile going down, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told reporters as investigators combed through the wreckage of a Bahamas-bound business jet that crashed in Greenacres on Sunday afternoon, 1News reported.

The Learjet 60 was traveling from Austin, Texas, with nine people on board when it plummeted into a roadway about 11 kilometers southwest of West Palm Beach, erupting into a fireball and leaving a massive crater. Federal investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board found evidence that the aircraft began breaking apart before hitting the ground, potentially scattering debris across a wide area.

NTSB member Tom Chapman stated during a news conference that weather conditions will remain a major focus of the inquiry. Rain pounded the region at the time of the accident, and AccuWeather noted an active FAA warning for nearly stationary thunderstorms with cloud tops reaching 45,000 feet.

Cockpit Audio Captures Rapid Descent

Air traffic control recordings captured increasingly urgent communications from the cockpit as the aircraft lost altitude at an alarming rate. The pilot reported moderate turbulence and light, clear ice accumulating on the jet while flying at a high altitude, with outside temperatures dropping to minus 47 degrees Celsius.

The situation deteriorated rapidly as the flight crew requested a climb before declaring an emergency. We’re descending 8,000 — mayday, mayday — we’re descending 10,000 feet per minute, the co-pilot radioed. Moments later, transmissions captured the crew stating they were in an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute before shouting, We’re going to crash into the ground.

Victims Identified as Families and Crew Grieve

Relatives and official statements identified the nine victims killed in the disaster. The flight crew included 55-year-old pilot Jeff Gregory and 20-year-old co-pilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, according to CBS News coverage cited by the New Zealand Herald. Filgueiras earned her pilot’s licence and had logged more than 1,300 flight hours, according to her family.

The passengers included technology entrepreneur Adam Robinson, his wife Helen Sharp, and their two young children, 4-year-old Emma and 2-year-old Charlie. Anita Maria Cetina, who helped care for the children, also died in the crash alongside family friends Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr, according to a statement released by the families.

Robinson was the co-founder of email marketing platform Robly and founder of Retention.com, based in Austin, Texas. His death marks the second time this year that the Austin tech community has lost a prominent entrepreneur in a fatal aviation accident, following the June death of venture capitalist Joshua Baer.

Investigators Search for Voice Recorder Amid Community Evacuations

The aircraft crashed near the entrance to a mobile-home park, prompting the evacuation of about 600 residents. Authorities have not yet established a timeline for when families will be allowed to return to their properties while emergency responders and federal investigators clear the scene.

Investigators are working to recover the aircraft’s cockpit voice recorder from the impact crater. The NTSB expects to release a preliminary report within 30 days, while a final determination regarding the probable cause of the disaster could take up to two years.

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