Who Was Adam Robinson? Tech Entrepreneur, Wife, Two Young Children and Nanny Killed in Florida Learjet Crash

Texas tech entrepreneur Adam Robinson, his wife, Helen Sharp, and their two young children were among nine people killed when a private Learjet 60 crashed in Palm Beach County, Florida, on Sunday, 1 November 2026.

According to TMZ, the 44-year-old businessman was travelling with his family, their nanny and two other passengers on a flight from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas. The aircraft's two pilots were also killed.

Robinson was best known as the founder of Retention.com and RB2B, two software businesses that provide data to help companies identify visitors to their websites.

Who Was Adam Robinson?

According to his LinkedIn profile, Robinson graduated from Rice University in Houston, Texas, before working in finance and moving into the technology sector.

He later founded Retention.com, a company that helps e-commerce businesses identify anonymous website visitors and use that information for marketing and customer re-engagement.

He also established RB2B, a business-to-business platform that identifies anonymous visitors to company websites and provides information such as their LinkedIn profiles to sales and marketing teams.

Robinson built his businesses without relying on traditional venture capital funding. He regularly discussed entrepreneurship, software development and building profitable companies through interviews and online business content.

His professional profile also identified him as the founder and chief executive of MoltSets, a venture offering contact-data APIs and database services designed for users of artificial intelligence tools.

Who Was His Wife, Helen Sharp?

According to PEOPLE, Sharp was a potter and business owner who operated Helen Sharp Ceramics, an Aspen-based pottery studio. She also founded Influential PR, a communications and public relations firm.

The couple lived in Austin with their two children, Emma, four, and Charlie, two.

In a family statement shared with media outlets, relatives confirmed the deaths of Robinson, Sharp and their children, as well as their fellow passengers Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr, and their nanny, Anita Maria Apellido Cetina.

The statement described Robinson and Sharp as devoted parents, saying their children were 'the light of their lives'.

It also remembered Reed and Fehr for their joy and adventurous spirits, while describing Cetina as someone who cared for the children with tenderness and devotion and had become part of the family.

What Happened In The Florida Learjet Crash?

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Learjet 60 crashed at approximately 12:50 pm local time on 1 November in a residential area of Palm Beach County, near Lake Worth Beach. The crash site was also described in reports as being in the Greenacres area.

The aircraft had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and was heading to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas.

All seven passengers and both pilots died, according to the FAA. US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy also confirmed that nine people had been killed.

Air traffic control recordings reviewed by CNN captured the pilot reporting icing conditions and moderate turbulence before requesting permission to climb to a higher altitude.

The pilot later declared an emergency and issued a mayday call, warning that the aircraft was going to crash. The circumstances leading to the emergency remain under investigation.

NTSB Investigates Possible Midair Break-Up

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is leading the investigation, with assistance from the FAA.

During a news briefing on Monday, 2 November, NTSB board member Tom Chapman said preliminary evidence indicated that the aircraft may have started breaking apart before hitting the ground.

According to the Associated Press, Chapman said investigators could find aircraft debris some distance from the main impact site.

The NTSB is examining the aircraft's flight data, weather conditions and wreckage as part of its investigation into the sudden descent and crash.

The investigation remains ongoing.