The nanny aboard the doomed Learjet made one final video call to her sister shortly before the aircraft crashed, her family has said.
Anita Maria Cetina, 24, was traveling with the Robinson family, who had chartered the jet, when it went down near West Palm Beach, Florida, last Sunday. She died along with everyone else on board.
Just weeks before her 25th birthday, Cetina called her sister, Angie Ramirez Cetina, moments before the flight departed.
Speaking to The US Sun, the grieving sister recalled: ‘We did a video call. She showed me the children and the plane. She was very happy.
‘She was genuinely happy because she had never been to the Bahamas. Even though she was working, she never saw it that way. She enjoyed it. She loved her job, the children and the Robinson family very much.’
Investigators are still trying to establish why the business jet crashed during its journey from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas. The accident killed pilot Jeffrey Gregory, 55, and co-pilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, 20.
Adam Robinson, his wife Helen Sharp, their children Emma, four, and Charlie, two, as well as Robinson’s friends Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr, were also on board. All nine people aboard were killed.
Cetina’s sister said she watched footage of the aircraft erupting in flames, but initially could not accept that her sibling might have been inside. ‘I didn’t want to accept that it might be my sister on the plane,’ she told The US Sun. Their mother later confirmed that Cetina was among the passengers.
The children’s nanny, Anita Maria Cetina, was killed in the crash last Sunday
Cetina called her sister Angie Ramirez Cetina just before takeoff, weeks ahead of her 25th birthday
The jet plunged into the ground in Florida and exploded in a fireball
‘My sister and I shared so much. We made countless memories,’ Angie said. ‘We were inseparable.’
Newly released 911 calls from witnesses in Florida have provided a glimpse of the chaos on the ground. Some callers initially feared the explosion had been caused by a bomb.
‘There was an explosion,’ one woman told 911, according to NBC Miami. ‘I think an airplane, a rocket, something fell from the sky.
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‘Our house shook, and then we heard an explosion when we ran outside. We didn’t see exactly what fell, but sparks came out and there was a lot of smoke.’
Another caller described hearing a ‘really big explosion.’
Air traffic control recordings have also captured the terrifying final moments of the flight, including Filgueiras’ increasingly urgent exchanges with controllers as the jet rapidly lost altitude.
She is heard saying: ‘Seven two two bravo delta, we’re descending 8,000… mayday, mayday… we’re descending 10,000ft per minute.’
Seconds later, she declares: ‘Declaring emergency, declaring emergency, we are in an overspeed condition,’ before shouting, ‘descending 20,000ft per minute… we’re going to crash into the ground.’
Pilot Jeffrey Gregory, 55, and co-pilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, 20, were flying the aircraft
Adam Robinson, Helen Sharp and their children, Emma, four, and Charlie, two, had chartered the jet
Robinson’s friends Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr were also aboard. All nine people were killed
‘I’m here with you. Talk to me,’ the air traffic controller says, trying to keep the crew calm.
The pilot responds: ‘We are descending 22,000ft, and we are banking 60 degrees.’ The statement indicates that the aircraft’s wings were tilted at a 60-degree angle, leaving the jet nearly on its side.
‘We’re out of time,’ she screams.
The Daily Mail has decided not to publish the final seconds of the recording because of its extremely distressing nature.
The crash site was marked by a huge crater, surrounded by a wide area of scattered wreckage.