Nine Killed in Florida Learjet Crash Include Tech Entrepreneur, Family and 20-Year-Old Co-Pilot

All nine people aboard a privately owned Learjet 60 died when the aircraft crashed and exploded on a multi-lane highway in Palm Beach County, Florida, on Sunday, 1 November 2026. The plane was en route from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas when it entered a high-speed descent and struck the ground near Military Trail and Cresthaven Boulevard.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash. Investigators are examining whether ice, turbulence or human factors contributed. One person on the ground suffered a minor injury. Approximately 600 residents of a nearby mobile-home community were evacuated or displaced, and emergency shelters were opened.

Identified Victims

Family members identified the passengers as Adam Robinson, 45, a Texas-based technology entrepreneur; his wife Helen Sharp, 40; and their children Emma, 4, and Charlie, 2. Also killed were family friends Rachel Reed and Charmi Fehr, and the children's nanny Anita Maria Cetina. A joint family statement described Reed and Fehr as "full of joy and adventure" and Cetina as someone who cared for the children with tenderness and devotion.

The pilot was 55-year-old Jeff Gregory. The co-pilot was 20-year-old Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras of Boca Raton, Florida. Her mother confirmed her identity. Filgueiras had received her pilot's licence while still in high school and worked for a private charter firm based in Fort Lauderdale. Photographs on her social media accounts showed her in the cockpit of a Learjet 60.

Sequence and Immediate Response

Witnesses described the aftermath as looking "like a meteor hit the ground." Dashcam footage captured the final descent. The aircraft struck the highway and exploded. Palm Beach County authorities secured the scene while NTSB teams began documenting wreckage. The crash is the deadliest involving a Learjet 60.

The flight originated in Austin and was bound for the Bahamas. No distress call details have been released publicly. Weather conditions at the time included thunderstorms in the area. The NTSB has recovered the cockpit voice recorder from a related medical transport crash off Nantucket but has not yet detailed findings specific to the Learjet.

Aftermath for Families and Community

Dudley Sharp, father of Helen Sharp, told reporters the loss of his daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren was "quite a blow." The joint family statement paid tribute to all the passengers and asked for privacy. Local officials continue to support displaced residents of the mobile-home park while the investigation proceeds. Full recovery of remains and detailed analysis of the flight data will take additional time.