20-Year-Old Copilot, Tech Entrepreneur and Two Children Among Nine Killed in Florida Jet Crash

A 20-year-old female copilot, a technology entrepreneur, his wife and their two young children are among nine people killed after a private jet crashed and exploded in a residential neighbourhood in South Florida.

The Learjet 60 went down on Sunday, November 1, in Greenacres, Palm Beach County, shortly after departing Austin, Texas, for North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas.

All nine people aboard the aircraft, comprising two crew members and seven passengers, died in the crash.

One of the victims was Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, who was identified by her family as the 20-year-old copilot. She obtained her pilot’s licence in 2023, when she was still a 17-year-old student at West Boca Raton Community High School in Florida.

Her mother, Camila Corteleti, said her daughter had developed an interest in aviation from an early age and had worked towards becoming a pilot.

Filgueiras had logged more than 1,300 flight hours and was employed by a private charter company. Her licence qualified her to fly the aircraft type but did not authorise her to serve as the pilot in command. Investigators have not established who was controlling the aircraft when it crashed.

The tragedy also claimed the lives of technology entrepreneur Adam Robinson, 45, his wife, Helen Sharp, 40, and their children, Emma, four, and Charlie, two.

Robinson was a co-founder of Robly, an email marketing platform, and the founder of Retention.com, a technology company based in Austin, Texas.

He was also associated with other technology businesses, including RB2B and MoltSets.

In a tribute, relatives described Robinson and Sharp as devoted parents, saying their children were the centre of their lives.

Also among the passengers were Rachael Reed, Charmi Fehr and Anita Maria Cetina, who helped care for the couple’s children.

The families remembered Reed and Fehr as people full of joy and adventure, while Cetina was praised for her affection and dedication to the children.

The crash occurred at approximately 12:50 p.m. local time near Military Trail and 10th Avenue North in Greenacres, southwest of West Palm Beach.

Videos shared on social media showed the aircraft descending sharply before striking the ground and erupting into a massive fireball.

According to information released by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the aircraft may have started breaking apart before hitting the ground.

Investigators said debris could be scattered across a wide area, while the recovery of major wreckage from a crater at the crash site presents a significant challenge.

Air traffic control recordings also revealed that the flight crew reported ice accumulating on the aircraft and turbulence shortly before the crash.

One of the pilots requested permission to climb to a higher altitude before declaring an emergency as the aircraft rapidly lost height.

The pilot issued a mayday call, reporting an alarming rate of descent, but the aircraft crashed moments later.

The NTSB said weather conditions would be a major focus of its investigation. Officials have not established the cause of the accident or determined whether the reported icing and turbulence contributed to the crash.

One person on the ground sustained a minor injury, while residents living close to the crash site were affected by the emergency response and investigation. A temporary shelter was established for people evacuated from nearby homes.

The Federal Aviation Administration and NTSB are investigating the incident.

As investigators work to establish what happened in the aircraft’s final moments, families of the victims have appealed for privacy as they mourn the loss of their loved ones.

The tragedy has also drawn attention to the young copilot’s aviation journey and the devastating loss of an entire family travelling together.