Tech entrepreneur Adam Robinson, who was killed alongside his wife and two children in a Learjet 60 crash in Palm Beach, Florida, shared a post on social media platform X six months before the tragedy. The post, dated April 18, 2026, read: "You don't need to crash a plane to learn to fly ... and you don't need VC to build a business."
Crash Details and Victims
The Learjet 60 crashed on Sunday afternoon in Palm Beach, nosediving into a residential area and erupting into flames. All nine people on board lost their lives. The aircraft had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was bound for the Bahamas when it encountered difficulties at approximately 35,000ft. The jet then plummeted almost vertically before crashing onto a road in Greenacres, just metres from hundreds of residential properties.
The victims have been formally identified as Adam Robinson, 44, his wife Helen Sharp, 40, their children Emma, four, and Charlie, two, along with nanny Anita Maria Cetina, and family friends Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr. Helen had run communications agency Influential PR and owned pottery studio Helen Sharp Ceramics. The family were based in Austin, Texas.
Social Media Reaction and Family Statement
The resurfaced post prompted an outpouring of grief on social media. One user wrote: "How eerie. Prayers for their loved ones. Oof. Absolutely heartbreaking." Another commented: "This is deeply eerie and incredibly heartbreaking," while a third added: "What are the chances?"
Helen's father Dudley Sharp said: "It's quite a blow. We had a daughter, her husband and two grandchildren on the plane." The families of those on board issued a statement saying: "With broken hearts, our families share that Adam Robinson and Helen Sharp, their children Emma and Charlie, Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr, and Anita Maria Cetina were among those lost aboard the flight that went down near Greenacres, Florida, on November 1."
Co-Pilot's Final Message
Nathalia Gadelha, 20, was named by her mother and stepfather as the co-pilot of the Learjet 60. Her stepfather Thiago Corteleti told the New York Post: "She texted her boyfriend, I think, at 12:40pm and the accident was at 12:50pm... She just said, 'I've got turbulence, I've got ice.'" According to air traffic control recordings, the pilot reported ice accumulating on the aircraft and turbulence triggering sudden shifts in altitude.
Nathalia, who was raised in Palm Beach County, obtained her private pilot's licence aged 17, before securing a driving licence. She commenced flight training in 2020 and had accumulated approximately 1,300 hours of flight time. A statement from Retention.com, RB2B, and Moltsets Team said: "We are heartbroken by the loss of Adam Robinson, our CEO and co-founder, his wife Helen and their two young children, who died in a tragic plane crash in Palm Beach County, Florida, on November 1, 2026."
