The NTSB is investigating a Learjet 60 crash in South Florida that killed all nine people aboard. (Foto: Instagram)
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating a Learjet 60 crash in South Florida on Sunday, Nov. 1, that killed all nine people aboard: two crew members and seven passengers. Investigators are examining whether the aircraft broke apart before hitting the ground. The plane plunged at a rate of up to 6,000 meters per minute before crashing onto a trailer park in Palm Beach County.
The NTSB has found indications that the jet exceeded its speed limit, a condition known in aviation as overspeed. Investigators are also trying to determine whether parts of the aircraft came loose before the descent began or while it was descending. The impact is expected to complicate the recovery of wreckage, and the NTSB said debris could be found far from the crash site. The investigation is being conducted with support from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Seven passengers were aboard: a Texas family of four, their nanny and two close friends. The family included technology entrepreneur Adam Robinson, 44, his wife, Helen Sharp, and their children, Emma, 4, and Charlie, 2. The nanny was identified as Anita Maria Apellido Cetina. The friends were Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr. The pilots were Captain Jeff Gregory, 55, and copilot Nathalia Gadelha, 20.
Gadelha, who was the daughter of Brazilian parents, grew up in Palm Beach County. She earned her private pilot license at 17, in October 2023, before getting a driver’s license, and had worked as a commercial pilot for nine months. The jet had departed Austin, Texas, for the Bahamas.
According to the New York Post, and as confirmed by Gadelha’s mother, Camila Gadelha Corteleti, and stepfather, Thiago Corteleti, she was the copilot whose voice can be heard in an air traffic control recording released after the crash. In the recording, she declares an emergency and reports an overspeed condition and a descent of 20,000 feet per minute. The controller responds that they understand and asks her to say what she needs.
The copilot later says the aircraft is descending at 22,000 feet and banking at 60 degrees. With shouting audible in the background, she says, “We’re going to die. We’re going to die. We’re going to hit the ground. Look outside.” She then says they are running out of time. The controller asks whether she can hear them, but the transmission cuts off.
In a joint statement shared by family member Anthony Robinson, the Robinson, Fehr and Cetina families paid tribute to those who died. The statement described Adam and Helen as devoted parents and said their children were the light of their lives. It also remembered Charmi and Rachael as joyful and adventurous people who loved those close to them. Anita, the statement said, cared for Emma and Charlie with tenderness and devotion and was truly part of the family. The families said she left a legacy of unconditional love and devotion.
