A Bahamas-bound Learjet 60 plummeted into a Palm Beach County residential area on November 1, 2026, killing all nine people on board, including a 20-year-old co-pilot who texted her boyfriend about ice and turbulence minutes before impact.
The aircraft, operated by Aurora Aviation doing business as Upper Jets under a Part 135 charter operation, departed Texas at approximately 10:37 a.m. en route to the Bahamas, according to federal records and investigators. On board were two crew members and seven passengers, including tech entrepreneur Adam Robinson, his wife Helen Sharp, their two young children Emma and Charlie, the children’s nanny Anita Maria Cetina, and two friends, Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr. The flight crew comprised 55-year-old captain Jeff Gregory of Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania, and 20-year-old co-pilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras.
Crew Issues Final Altitude Calls and Last Texts Before Crash
While flying at 35,000 feet with an outside air temperature of -47 degrees Celsius, the flight crew contacted Miami Air Route Traffic Center to report light, clear ice that was manageable, alongside moderate turbulence causing altitude deviations of about 700 feet, NTSB member Tom Chapman said during a media briefing. The crew requested and received approval from FAA air traffic control to climb to 37,000 feet.
In my 20’s, I used to work on Wall Street. People my age now (45) said they were working 70, 80, 90 hours a week for their families…but all their families actually wanted was their presence. They didn’t understand why their families resented how much they worked when they…
Less than 30 seconds later, the crew radioed a descent and declared an emergency. Filgueiras’s stepfather, Thiago Corteleti, told the New York Post that she had texted her boyfriend—who is also a pilot—at 12:40 p.m. to report the worsening conditions. She just said, ‘I’ve got turbulence, I’ve got ice,
Corteleti said.
As the aircraft plummeted, air traffic control audio captured the crew reporting escalating descent rates of 10,000 and 20,000 feet per minute while entering an overspeed condition. We’re going to crash into the ground,
a panicked pilot radioed air traffic control. The plane crashed at approximately 12:50 p.m.
Absolutely devastated by yesterday’s tragic plane crash in Florida and the loss of all nine lives. I flew on that exact aircraft last month with those same two pilots. They were incredible professionals and genuinely wonderful people. Hearing the young woman’s story and learning…
Investigators Focus on Weather and Structural Breakup
National Transportation Safety Board investigators, led by investigator in charge Tim Monville alongside Tom Chapman, have deployed approximately 20 personnel to examine the wreckage site on a roadway in Palm Beach County. Investigators stated there are early indications that the 22-year-old Learjet 60, serial number 271, began breaking apart before impact. Dashcam footage of the crash appears to show the T-tail business jet missing its horizontal stabilizer, though authorities are examining whether structural failure caused the crash or occurred during the high-speed descent.
Local authorities established a shelter for approximately 600 residents from nearly 80 mobile homes near the crash site. Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel Flores stated that residents living around the crash site cannot immediately return home. One driver sustained a leg injury while fleeing the affected area, but no other injuries were reported on the ground.
Palm Beach County authorities were evacuating about 600 people from a nearby mobile home community. One person in a vehicle near the crash site sustained a leg injury.
Loved Ones Mourn Victims of Tragic Crash
Filgueiras earned her pilot’s licence in 2023 at age 17 as a senior at West Boca Raton Community High School. She had logged 1,300 hours of flight time. Her former captain, Jeffrey Gregory, was remembered by former employer East Coast Jets as an experienced aviator.
A video has resurfaced of tech CEO Adam Robinson, who was among the 9 people k*lled in a Florida plane crash alongside his wife and two young children, talking about how he got into flying private 😳 “My very rich friends used to brag about how they could fly private instantly,… pic.twitter.com/uIAmegCDvN
The families of the seven passengers released a joint statement mourning Robinson, Sharp, their children, their nanny Cetina, and friends Reed and Fehr. Our hearts are also with the families of the pilots, who are grieving alongside us,
the statement read, adding that the children were the light of their lives
and devoted parents.
NTSB to hold its second media briefing today on its investigation into Sunday's crash of a Learjet 60 airplane in Palm Beach County, Florida. NTSB Member Tom Chapman will brief the media at 3:00 p.m. EST at the Emergency Operations Center, 20 S. Military Trail, West Palm Beach,…
More on Palm Beach County
We’re following reports of an aircraft crash near Palm Beach, Florida. Based on ADS-B data, it appears that the involved aircraft is N722BD, a Learjet 60. Last data from the aircraft was at altitude 8,750 ft. Max vertical speed was more than -32,000 fpm.https://t.co/yEh0drfAGJ pic.twitter.com/bqFsjltIoe
Aki Kuusisto, the man whose dashcam captured dramatic footage of a private jet crashing on a busy Florida roadway, describes what he witnessed and heard."I heard a whistling noise, a big bang and I saw a fireball," he told CBS News' @cbenavidesTV. pic.twitter.com/FBVeuThKb9
Today's plane crash in Palm Beach County, Florida is a horrific tragedyHere's what we know:- At 12:50 PM ET, a Learjet 60 crashed in a neighborhood near Cresthaven, FL- All 9 people on board were killed- The aircraft departed from Austin, Texas, and was headed to the Bahamas…
Plane crash updates | Husband, wife, children among those killedhttps://t.co/bNV4k1QCiV
I can not even imagine what the families of those on board must be feeling today. Such a terrible tragedy. https://t.co/2CpS1j2H71
Private Jet May Have Broken Up Before Florida Crash, NTSB Says (via @business with @allyversprille & @LeenAlRashdan): https://t.co/OCxpiOhQeC