Retention tech boss’s emotional post goes viral after Florida plane crash kills family

A post about family time

Robinson, founder of tech start-up Retention, wrote on X in April about his views on work and family. He recalled working on Wall Street in his 20s and said people his age, then 45, described long hours as being for their families.

He wrote that families wanted their loved ones’ presence, despite having comfortable homes and children in private schools. Robinson said he resolved early in his start-up career not to let work take that priority.

He said he would close his laptop and stop discussing work at the end of the day. At times, he left the office between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Those killed in the crash

Robinson died with his wife, Helen Sharp, and their children, Emma, four, and Charlie, two. Their nanny, Anita Maria Cetina, was also aboard, as were Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr, described as another couple.

Witnesses recorded the crash over the weekend. The aircraft had left Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was bound for the Bahamas.

Pilot reported rapid descent

Audio obtained by CNN and Sky News captured the pilot’s distress call as the aircraft began descending rapidly. The pilot reported an overspeed condition and a descent of 20,000 feet per minute.

About 35 seconds after the initial mayday call, the pilot said, “We’re out of time.” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said no immediate reports indicated that anyone on the ground had been injured or killed. DeSantis described the crash as catastrophic and said it left a large crater beside the road.