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

Nine people have been killed after a small jet crashed and exploded in Florida on Sunday.

The Learjet 60 was bound for the Bahamas from Austin when it nosedived into a multi-lane highway.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating whether ice and turbulence contributed to the crash, and whether human error played a role.

Here is what we know so far about the victims.

The Texas tech entrepreneur, his wife Helen Sharp and their two children, Emma, 4, and Charlie, 2, were all killed in the crash, according to a joint statement from some of the families of those killed.

Their family described them as "devoted parents" and said their children were "the light of their lives".

"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," the statement reads.

On his LinkedIn page, Robinson described himself as the founder and CEO of RB2B and Retention.com, and the CEO of Moltsets.

He previously worked at global financial services business Lehman Brothers and the banking group Barclays.

The BBC has contacted the companies for a statement.

Fellow tech entrepreneur Jesse Ouellette posted on LinkedIn about Robinson's death, saying he had helped him when he was building his company.

"He became a friend and someone I saw eye to eye with on how to build software companies," wrote Ouellette.

"He could disagree with you about almost anything, and somehow you'd walk away liking him even more."

Robinson's last post on the networking site was on Sunday, about a debate he and Ouellette had scheduled for the following week.

Helen Sharp, meanwhile, was an artist, according to media reports.

Her father, Dudley Sharp, told the Florida news site The Palm Beach Post that news his family had been on the plane was "quite a blow".

"We had a daughter, her husband and two grandchildren on the plane," he said.

US media has identified Nathalia Filgueiras, 20, as the copilot of the plane. She earned her pilot's licence when she was 17.

Filgueiras's mother, Camila Corteleti, confirmed to US media that her daughter had died in the fireball.

Corteleti told the New York Times: "She loved the freedom. It was completely different seeing the world from the top."

In a 2023 interview with a local news affiliate of CBS News, Filgueiras spoke proudly of receiving her pilot's licence while still a senior in high school.

"I like being different than everyone," she said. "Some people think that it's weird that I can fly planes, but I can't drive a car, I mean I can but, a lot of people think it's funny."