Learjet crashes at 350 feet per second, killing family of four in Florida

A private jet crashed into a roadway in Palm Beach County, Florida on Sunday, killing all nine people aboard. The impact created a large crater in the pavement and scattered debris across a neighborhood in Greenacres. The accident occurred just before 1 p.m. ET near Military Trail, between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue.

Among the seven passengers were Adam Robinson, Helen Sharp, and their two young children, Emma, 4, and Charlie, 2. Anthony Robinson, Adam’s brother, confirmed the family was aboard the aircraft in an online statement. He described the couple as a enduring partnership whose warmth touched many lives. The co-pilot’s stepfather also identified the 20-year-old pilot as Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras. One man in a vehicle adjacent to the crash site sustained a leg injury.

The Federal Aviation Administration stated the 22-year-old twin-engine Learjet 60 plummeted to the ground at a rate of 350 feet per second. The plane belonged to Aurora Aviation, operating under the name Upper Jets. It departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport around 10:37 a.m. ET on Sunday bound for North Eleuthera in the Bahamas. The crew maintained communication with air traffic control throughout the flight route.

NTSB board member Tom Chapman detailed the final moments of the flight during a news conference on Monday. At 12:47 p.m. ET, the crew reported encountering moderate turbulence and light clear ice. They noted the conditions were manageable at that time. The aircraft was at 35,000 feet, and the outside temperature was minus 53 degrees Fahrenheit. The crew requested permission to climb to 37,000 feet, which air traffic control approved.

Less than 30 seconds after the climb request, the aircraft transmitted that it was in an overspeed condition and descending. Chapman said the rest of that transmission was unintelligible. Subsequent communications described a rapid descent. The NTSB indicated the plane may have been breaking up before it struck the ground. Chapman noted that parts of the aircraft could be found at a distance from the main impact site.

Investigators are focusing on weather conditions as a major factor in the crash. Chapman stated that the turbulence reported by the crew is certainly a factor. Neither NTSB investigator in charge Timothy Monville nor Chapman could confirm if the jet flew through an active thunderstorm before the descent. Monville estimated the debris field measured approximately one-half mile by four-tenths of a mile. The wreckage was scattered among ball fields, businesses, and houses.

The medical examiner’s office is engaged in a lengthy process of DNA collection to officially release victims' names. County officials evacuated hundreds of people from 77 mobile homes in the area following the crash. Rainwater has seeped into the crater, posing difficulties for investigators who will remain at the scene for several days. Monville identified recovering wreckage from the deep crater as the biggest obstacle to the investigation.

Photos and videos captured the jet hitting the ground nose-first and bursting into a fireball. The impact occurred near a shopping center. A cockpit voice recorder was installed on the jet, though it remains unclear if the device remained onboard during the final flight. NTSB officials do not have precise numbers on the aircraft’s airspeed but confirmed it was traveling at a high rate of speed before the crash.