Nine people, including two young children and two pilots, died when the business jet crashed in Palm Beach County.
WEST PALM BEACH, FL — Family members and news organizations have identified the nine people killed when a Learjet 60 traveling from Texas to the Bahamas crashed in Palm Beach County, as federal investigators examine severe weather, icing reports and evidence that parts of the aircraft may have separated before impact.
The Nov. 1 crash killed seven passengers and two pilots aboard the private jet. The passengers were Adam Robinson; his wife, Helen Sharp; their children, Emma, 4, and Charlie, 2; Rachael Reed; Charmi Fehr; and Anita Maria Cetina, who helped care for the children. The pilots were identified as Jeffrey Gregory, 55, and Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, 20. The National Transportation Safety Board is leading an investigation and has not determined what caused the crash.
The Learjet departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was bound for North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas, according to federal authorities. The Federal Aviation Administration said the aircraft crashed in a residential area near Cresthaven, Florida, at about 12:50 p.m. Sunday. The NTSB lists the accident location as Lake Worth Beach, while other reporting and family statements have described the crash site as near Greenacres in Palm Beach County.
Robinson was a technology entrepreneur with ties to Austin. A joint statement from the passengers’ families described Robinson and Sharp as devoted parents and said their children were central to their lives. The statement also remembered Reed and Fehr as close friends and described Cetina as an important part of the family who cared for Emma and Charlie. The families thanked first responders, investigators and members of the Palm Beach County community for their support.
Filgueiras had pursued aviation from a young age and earned her private pilot certificate while still in high school in Boca Raton. She received the certificate at 17, before graduating from West Boca Raton Community High School, according to previous local reporting. Federal pilot records showed she was qualified to fly the type of Learjet involved in the crash but was not qualified to serve as pilot in command. CBS News identified Gregory as the captain, citing a flight manifest and a source with direct knowledge of the flight.
Investigators are focusing closely on the weather conditions the crew encountered before the crash. During the flight, the crew reported light clear ice and moderate turbulence while the jet was flying at about 35,000 feet, according to accounts of the aircraft’s communications with air traffic control. The crew later reported precipitation and requested permission to climb to 37,000 feet. Air traffic control approved that request.
The situation deteriorated quickly. Less than a minute after the climb request, the crew reported that the aircraft was descending rapidly and declared an emergency. The pilots also reported an overspeed condition during the descent. Investigators have stressed that those communications are only part of the evidence being examined and do not establish why the aircraft lost control.
The NTSB said weather will be a major focus of its investigation because thunderstorms and other severe conditions were affecting South Florida at the time. Investigators will examine conditions not only at ground level but also at the jet’s cruising altitude. They will also study the aircraft’s systems, maintenance history, flight crew information, air traffic control communications and recovered wreckage before reaching conclusions about the sequence of events.
Investigators also have preliminary indications that portions of the Learjet may have separated before it hit the ground. Debris was found beyond the main impact area, and NTSB investigators are working to determine when individual pieces separated and whether that occurred before or during the aircraft’s final descent. Federal officials have not said that an in-flight structural failure caused the crash, and the evidence remains under examination.
The Learjet was operating as an Upper Jet flight, according to the NTSB, which identified Aurora Aviation as the operator. FAA records identify the aircraft as a Learjet 60 registered under tail number N722BD. Recovery and documentation of the wreckage are expected to remain important parts of the investigation as specialists reconstruct the aircraft and review available flight information.
The NTSB investigation, designated ERA27MA026, remains ongoing. The agency’s current information is preliminary and subject to change, and investigators have not announced a probable cause. Federal aviation investigations typically continue well beyond the initial on-scene examination as investigators analyze records, wreckage, weather information and other evidence.
Author note: Last updated November 2, 2026.