The chartered jet, valued at $2 million, was carrying nine people when it encountered severe turbulence and icing conditions. In final radio transmissions, 20-year-old co-pilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras reported a rapid loss of altitude, at one point citing a descent rate of 20,000 feet per minute. According to audio recordings, pilot Jeff Gregory recited the Lord’s Prayer as the crew struggled to maintain control of the aircraft before the fatal impact.
National Transportation Safety Board member Tom Chapman confirmed that debris found near the site suggests the jet began breaking apart before hitting the ground. Former aviation investigators have suggested that the loss of tail components during the emergency could have rendered the aircraft uncontrollable, resulting in the steep, high-speed descent captured by witnesses.
Beyond the Robinson family, the crash claimed the lives of friends Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr, the family nanny Anita Maria Apellido Cetina, and the two pilots. Robinson, a co-founder of the email marketing firm Robly and founder of Retention.com, had been traveling with his family from their home in Aspen, Colorado. As the investigation continues, authorities are prioritizing the analysis of weather data at 35,000 feet to determine whether the reported icing conditions were the primary catalyst for the catastrophic failure.
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