Philadelphia pilot Jeff Gregory killed in Palm Beach Learjet crash

Jeff Gregory, a 55-year-old pilot from the Philadelphia suburbs, was among the nine people killed when a Learjet 60 crashed in Greenacres, Florida, on Sunday afternoon. The aircraft was en route to the Bahamas from Austin, Texas, when it encountered severe weather and struck the ground about seven miles southwest of West Palm Beach.

Gregory served as the captain of the flight for Upper Jets, a company based in Pennsylvania. His 20-year-old co-pilot, Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, reported to air traffic controllers that the plane was accumulating ice and experiencing severe turbulence that shook the aircraft up and down by more than 700 feet. During the final radio transmissions, a man’s voice reciting the Lord’s Prayer could be heard in the background. Friends of Gregory believe it was him, a devoted Christian, speaking as the plane descended.

Federal investigators indicated on Monday that several parts of the jet likely began to break away before impact. Video footage from moments before the crash appears to show the horizontal stabilizer missing from the tail. The jet hit the ground with enough force to create a crater before exploding in a ball of fire. Debris scattered across a wide area, and about 600 nearby residents remained displaced, though only one person was reported injured on the ground.

Thomas Noetzel, director of operations at Upper Jets, organized an online fundraiser to support Gregory’s wife and children. Noetzel described Gregory as a close friend and personal influence on his own life. Walter, Noetzel’s father, posted on Facebook that Gregory was a dedicated and faithful man with a passion for flying and a deep love for the Lord. He wrote that Gregory’s journey on Earth may have ended, but he believed Gregory was now flying among the angels.

Gregory held air transport pilot and flight instructor certificates from the Federal Aviation Administration. He lived in Gilbertsville, about 35 miles northwest of Philadelphia, and had previously worked for a charter company in Allentown, Pennsylvania. April Honnen, sales director for East Coast Jets Inc., where Gregory worked in 2016 and 2017, expressed the company’s deep sorrow over the loss of the captain and their prayers for his family, co-pilot, and passengers.

Among the victims were technology businessman Adam Robinson, his wife Helen Sharp, and their two young children, according to family members. Filgueiras’ stepfather, Thiago Corteleti, said that she texted her boyfriend about 10 minutes before the crash to warn him about turbulence and ice. NTSB member Tom Chapman stated that weather would be a key focus of the investigation. A preliminary report is expected in about a month, but determining the cause of the accident will likely take more than a year.