Cook County family among nine killed in Palm Beach Learjet crash
The aircraft crashed into a roadway in Greenacres on Sunday, killing two adults and two children from the Robinson Sharp family.
By Leila Mansour ·
A family of four from Cook County, Illinois, was among the nine people killed when a private jet crashed into a Florida roadway on Sunday. The aircraft, a Learjet 60, slammed into the ground near a shopping center in the Greenacres community of Palm Beach County. Authorities confirmed that all passengers and crew members did not survive the impact.
Adam Robinson and Helen Sharp were killed in the disaster. They were traveling with their two young children, Emma, age 4, and Charlie, age 2. A relative identified the group to media outlets on Monday. The crash occurred near Military Trail, between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue, just before 1 p.m. Eastern Time.
Anthony Robinson, the brother of Adam Robinson, released an online statement honoring the couple. He described Helen and Adam as a lasting love affair whose warmth and generosity touched many lives. He noted that their loss would be deeply felt by everyone who knew them.
The aircraft was owned by Aurora Aviation, a private company operating as Upper Jets. It departed from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas around 10:37 a.m. ET on Sunday. The jet was bound for North Eleuthera in the Bahamas. The Federal Aviation Administration stated the plane plummeted to the ground at a speed of 350 feet per second.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators said the aircraft may have been breaking apart before it hit the ground. Board member Tom Chapman spoke at a news conference in West Palm Beach on Monday. He said the crew reported encountering icing and moderate turbulence prior to the rapid descent. The crew made a Mayday emergency call to air traffic control during the final moments of the flight.
Chapman detailed the timeline of events leading to the crash. At 12:47 p.m. ET, the crew reported moderate turbulence and light clear ice. They indicated that the conditions were manageable at that time. While in contact with the Miami Air Route Traffic Center, the crew reported being at an altitude of 35,000 feet. The outside temperature was recorded at minus 53 degrees Fahrenheit.
The crew requested permission to climb to 37,000 feet, which was approved. Less than 30 seconds later, the airplane transmitted that it was in an overspeed condition and descending rapidly. Subsequent communications described a rapid descent and included an altitude callout. Investigators said the aircraft was traveling at a high rate of speed before the crash.
One man driving a vehicle immediately adjacent to the crash site sustained a leg injury, according to NTSB investigator Timothy Monville. The impact created a large crater in the roadway. Monville estimated the debris field measured roughly one-half mile by four-tenths of a mile. Wreckage was scattered across ball fields, businesses, and houses.
County officials said the crash prompted the evacuation of hundreds of people from 77 mobile homes in the area. The medical examiner's office is currently in the process of collecting and assessing DNA samples to officially identify the victims. An official from the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office said it is too early to release the names of all the deceased publicly.
The co-pilot, identified as Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, was 20 years old. Her stepfather confirmed her identity to news outlets on Monday. NTSB investigators plan to remain at the scene for several days to collect evidence. They noted that rainwater had seeped into the crater, posing a challenge for recovering the wreckage from the ground.
