Tech boss’s emotional post about his young family resurfaces after they are identified as Florida plane crash victims
Tech boss’s emotional post about his young family resurfaces after they are identified as Florida plane crash victims
Owen Scott and Rhian Lubin Tue, November 3, 2026 at 3:55 PM UTC
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An emotional post about family authored by the tech boss who died in the tragic Florida plane crash, along with his wife and two young children, has resurfaced in the wake of the disaster.
Adam Robinson, 45, his wife Helen, and their children Emma, 4, and Charlie, 2, were killed Sunday when a Learjet 60 plane traveling from Texas to the Bahamas crashed in Cresthaven, Palm Beach County. Their nanny, Anita Maria Apellido Cetina, and two family friends, Charmi Fehr and Rachael Reed, also perished in the tragedy, along with 20-year-old co-pilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras and pilot Jeff Gregory, 55.
Investigations are underway into the cause of the plane crash with officials saying weather could have played a factor. There were also indications that the plane broke apart before the crash.
Harrowing audio of the co-pilot’s distress call captured the final 60 seconds as the plane plummeted to the ground. “We’re descending 8,000 - mayday, mayday,” Filgueiras radioed. “We’re descending 10,000 feet per minute. We’re going to crash into the ground.” Around 35 seconds after the initial mayday call, the last words heard from the cockpit were, “We’re out of time.”
Robinson was the founder of tech start-up Retention and in April wrote about the importance of his family in the poignant post on X. His words have been shared by strangers online following his death.
Adam Robinson, 45, his wife Helen Sharp and their two young children Emma, 4, and Charlie, 2, were all killed in the crash. A social media post of Robinson’s has resurfaced after he wrote about the importance of his family (Facebook/Anthony Robinson)
“In my 20’s [sic], I used to work on Wall Street,” he began. “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 lived in a nice house, and their kids went to private schools,” he continued. “I decided early in my startup journey that wasn’t going to be me.”
Robinson said that he would shut off his laptop and stop talking about work as soon as he finished for the day and sometimes even left between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.
“My family life gives me energy for my work,” he explained. “My work gives me energy for my family life.”
The final line read, “There is great reward that comes from designing a business around the life you want.”
Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras was the 20-year-old co-pilot who also died in the crash. She was heard making a harrowing mayday call over the radio as the plane plummeted to the ground (@itsnatfilg/Threads)
The cause of the crash is currently under investigation. The pilot reported that ice had begun to accumulate on the aircraft and noted that there was an outside temperature of -47 degrees Celsius, according LiveATC.com records reviewed by CNN.
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The plane also experienced turbulence that bounced it by around 700 feet.
National Transportation Safety Board member Tom Chapman said there was evidence that the plane started to break apart before slamming into the ground.
"We do have some indication that the aircraft was breaking up before impact," Chapman said Monday. "And so, some of this has yet to be determined. We may find parts of the aircraft some distance away from the actual impact site."
He added that rainy weather in Florida at the time of the crash will also be key in the investigation.
"The weather conditions are a major focus of the investigation," Chapman said. "You all saw what the weather was like here at the surface. What we have to determine is what the weather conditions were like at altitude."
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis described the “cataclysmic” crash to reporters from the scene. He said that, miraculously, there were no immediate reports of anyone on the ground being injured or killed.
“It looked like a missile going down and left a big crater on the side of the road,” he said.
The jet exploded into a fireball when it hit the ground. The cause of the crash is under investigation (Aki Kuusisto)
The Robinson, Fehr and Cetina families shared a joint statement posted Monday by relative Anthony Robinson.
“Adam and Helen were devoted parents, and Emma, 4, and Charlie, 2, were the light of their lives,” the statement said. “Helen and Adam were the love affair that will last forever. Their warmth, generosity and gift for making people feel welcome touched so many lives.”
“Charmi and Rachel were full of joy and adventure,” the statement continued. “They loved their people fiercely, fully and without hesitation. From the moment they met, they were all in on each other and the life they were building. ... Anita Maria cared for Emma and Charlie with tenderness and devotion, and she was truly part of the family. She showed us a legacy of unconditional love and devotion.”
Filgueiras’ mother, Camila Corteleti, said that her daughter logged more than 1,300 flight hours after receiving her private pilot’s license while a senior in high school, when she was able to fly a plane before learning to drive a car.
“She loved the freedom,” Corteleti told the The New York Times . “It was completely different seeing the world from the top.”
Source: “AOL Breaking”
