Jet may have broken apart before Florida crash, officials say, as family named among victims

What the report says

US investigators say there is evidence that parts of a private jet may have broken up before it crashed in Palm Beach, Florida, killing all nine people on board. The Learjet 60 was flying from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas when it nosedived into a six-lane road shortly after 12:50 local time on Sunday and burst into flames on impact, according to the BBC’s report.

The National Transportation Safety Board said its work has been slowed by the crater left in the roadway, which was partly filled with water after severe storms hit the area. Investigators said weather will be a major part of the inquiry, and they are also trying to determine whether the aircraft’s cockpit voice recorder was on board and recoverable. Audio from air traffic control suggests the crew had reported moderate turbulence, ice and precipitation before the plane rapidly descended.

Among those reported killed were tech entrepreneur Adam Robinson, his wife Helen Sharp, and their two children, Emma, four, and Charlie, two. Family members also identified Anita Maria Cetina as being on the flight, while Rachel Reed, Charmi Fehr, the pilot Jeffery Gregory and 20-year-old copilot Nathalia Filgueiras were also named in reports. One person in a vehicle on the ground was injured. The crash has prompted questions about the aircraft’s condition, the weather and the final moments of the flight.