A devastating Learjet crash in South Florida has claimed the lives of a young Texas family, two close friends, their nanny and both members of the aircraft’s flight crew. The victims included technology entrepreneur Adam Robinson, 44, his wife Helen Sharp and their children, Emma, 4, and Charlie, 2.
The family was travelling aboard a chartered Learjet 60 when it crashed on Sunday, November 1, 2026, outside a mobile home park in Palm Springs, Florida. The aircraft, valued at approximately $2 million, plunged to the ground and disintegrated, killing all nine people on board.
Robinson’s brother confirmed the family’s deaths in an emotional social media tribute, describing the couple’s relationship as a love that would endure forever.
“Helen and Adam were the love affair that will last forever,” he wrote.
Family Remembered as Devoted Parents
Adam Robinson was the founder and chief executive of software companies Retention.com and RB2B. Based in Austin, Texas, he had previously worked at Lehman Brothers and Barclays Capital, according to his LinkedIn profile.
His wife, Helen, was a ceramics artist who regularly shared videos of her work and photographs of their family on social media. The couple’s two young children frequently featured in her posts, offering glimpses of their life together.
A family tribute described Adam and Helen as devoted parents, with Emma and Charlie at the centre of everything they did.
“Adam and Helen were devoted parents, and Emma, 4, and Charlie, 2, were the light of their lives,” the statement read.
Photographs shared online showed the family enjoying time together, including holidays and outdoor activities. Other images captured the children playing in the snow and wearing ski outfits.
The tribute also remembered the couple’s friends, Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr, who were travelling with them.
“Rachael and Charmi were full of joy and adventure. They loved their people fiercely, fully and without hesitation,” the family wrote.
The family’s nanny, Anita Maria Apellido Cetina, was also killed in the crash.Family handout
Nanny Remembered as a Beloved Member of the Family
The couple’s friends, Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr, were also killed in the crash.Facebook/Rachel Reed
Anita Maria Apellido Cetina, the family’s nanny, was also among those killed.
The family described her as far more than an employee, saying she had become an integral part of their household through the care and affection she gave the children.
“Anita Maria 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,” the statement said.
The tribute highlighted the close bond she shared with the children and the important role she played in their everyday lives.
Pilot Heard Reciting the Lord’s Prayer Before Impact
The aircraft’s pilot in command was identified as 55-year-old Jeff Gregory.
In the final moments before the crash, Gregory was reportedly heard reciting the Lord’s Prayer during a radio transmission with air traffic control. The Learjet then plunged towards the ground and broke apart.
The co-pilot was identified as 20-year-old Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, who had obtained her pilot’s licence while still in high school.
She was heard screaming and pleading for help in the final radio communications.
Investigators have not yet established Filgueiras’ precise role during the emergency. However, aviation attorney Zachary S. Gorwitz of Podhurst Orseck, a firm specialising in aviation accidents, suggested that the radio exchange could offer clues about who was operating the aircraft.
“The fact that this 20 year co-pilot was the one on the radio suggests the pilot was at the controls,” he told The Post.
He cautioned that further investigation would be needed to establish exactly what happened inside the cockpit.
Investigators Examine Ice, Turbulence and Aircraft Damage
Federal investigators have yet to determine what caused the Learjet to crash.
During a press conference on Monday, authorities said the aircraft had been flying in temperatures of approximately minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit. It reportedly began accumulating ice and encountered heavy turbulence.
The National Transportation Safety Board confirmed that the aircraft started breaking apart before reaching the ground. Debris was scattered across an area extending roughly half a mile.
Investigators are also examining whether the plane was equipped with a cockpit voice recorder and, if so, whether the device survived the impact.
The information recovered from the aircraft, along with air traffic control communications and physical evidence from the crash site, could prove important in reconstructing the final moments of the flight.
For now, the cause of the disaster remains unknown.
Nine Lives Lost in a Devastating Aviation Disaster
The crash has left two families and their wider circle of loved ones facing an unimaginable loss. Alongside Adam and Helen Robinson and their two children, the victims included friends Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr, nanny Anita Maria Apellido Cetina, pilot Jeff Gregory and co-pilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras.
The family’s tribute remembered each of them not simply by their roles or achievements, but by the relationships and affection they brought into one another’s lives.
As investigators continue working to establish what caused the Learjet to fall from the sky, those closest to the victims are left mourning nine lives lost in a single devastating flight.