Anita María Ramírez Cetina was excited about her first trip to the Bahamas. Shortly before boarding a Learjet with the family she cared for, the 24-year-old called her sister, Angie, and showed her the children and the plane.
Hours later, the aircraft crashed in Palm Beach County, Florida. All nine people aboard were killed. The sisters’ cheerful conversation became their final call.
A happy goodbye before takeoff
Anita, whom her family also called Ana, was traveling with the Robinson family and their two young children. Her sister said Anita looked forward to the trip and loved her work as a nanny. She had grown especially close to the children, Emma and Charlie, and cared deeply for the family.
During the video call, Anita showed Angie the children and gave her a look at the aircraft. Angie sent her a photo and video of her own baby. Anita planned to watch them after the plane landed.
The family’s trip was bound for the Bahamas. Anita had never visited before, and her sister remembered her as genuinely excited to go.
The news reached her family the next morning
The Learjet 60 crashed later that day while traveling from Texas to the Bahamas. Along with Anita, those killed included the children’s parents, Adam Robinson and Helen Sharp; Emma and Charlie; family friends Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr; and pilots Jeff Gregory and Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras.
Angie first came across footage of the crash online. She checked the flight information but struggled to accept that her sister might have been aboard. The following morning, their mother called and confirmed that Anita had been on the flight.
Sisters who shared a close bond
Angie last saw Anita in person in July, when she gave birth to her son. Anita stayed by her side during the birth and recovery afterward.
The sisters had been exceptionally close, Angie said, and Anita adored her nephew. Her final call had been full of ordinary, happy details: the children she loved, the plane she was about to board, and a trip she had been looking forward to.
For her family, those memories now carry the weight of a goodbye they did not know was their last.