Investigators say Florida crash jet may have broken apart before impact

Investigators say parts of a private jet that crashed into a Florida highway may have broken off before impact, as authorities work to recover the wreckage and establish what caused the deaths of all nine people on board.

The Learjet 60 was travelling from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas when it crashed on Military Trail in Palm Beach at about 12.50pm on Sunday. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said weather would be a major focus of its investigation. Heavy rain and thunderstorms had been reported locally, and water partly filled a large crater left in the road, complicating efforts to retrieve the main wreckage.

“We do have some evidence that there was some breakup of the aircraft before impact,” NTSB investigator Tom Chapman said. He said investigators might find pieces some distance from the crash site. Lead investigator Tim Monville described recovering the wreckage from the crater as the team’s biggest obstacle.

Air traffic control recordings capture a cockpit voice reporting moderate turbulence, managing ice and picking up precipitation. The crew then reported that the aircraft was descending rapidly and declared an emergency. Investigators are also trying to determine whether a cockpit voice recorder was on board and whether it can be recovered.

Seven passengers were named in a family statement: technology entrepreneur Adam Robinson, his wife Helen Sharp, their children Emma, four, and Charlie, two, and Anita Maria Cetina, Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr. The family described Cetina as part of the family and said Reed and Fehr were full of joy and adventure.

The pilot was named in media reports as Jeffery Gregory. Nathalia Filgueiras, 20, was identified in reports as the co-pilot; her mother confirmed her death to US media. One person in a car on the ground was injured in the crash.