By Fatma Younis
The pilot of a Learjet 60 that crashed in Greenacres, Florida, on Sunday, killing all nine people aboard, has been identified as Jeff Gregory, a 55-year-old airline transport pilot and flight instructor from Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania, about 35 miles northwest of Philadelphia.
Crash Details and Final Moments
The business jet, operated by Upper Jets, was en route from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas when it encountered severe weather. Co-pilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, 20, reported ice accumulation and turbulence that threw the aircraft up and down by more than 700 feet. In her final radio transmission, she screamed, "We're going to die!" before the jet slammed into the ground about seven miles southwest of West Palm Beach, creating a crater and erupting in a fireball.
Pilot Remembered as Man of Faith
Friends and colleagues described Gregory as a devout Christian. A man's voice reciting the Lord's Prayer was audible in the background of the co-pilot's final transmissions, and those who knew Gregory are convinced it was him. Thomas Noetzel, Upper Jets' director of operations and a close friend, organized a GoFundMe campaign for Gregory's wife and children, writing that knowing Gregory "made me a better person." Noetzel's father, Walter, posted on Facebook that Gregory was "a devoted, conscientious, and deeply faithful man who had a genuine passion for flying and a strong love for the Lord."
Victims and Investigation
All nine occupants perished, including technology entrepreneur Adam Robinson, his wife Helen Sharp, and their two young children. About 600 nearby residents remain displaced, though only one ground injury was reported. National Transportation Safety Board member Tom Chapman said Monday that weather will be a key focus of the investigation. A preliminary report is expected in about a month, but determining the probable cause will likely take more than a year. Federal investigators said Monday that parts of the jet likely began breaking off before impact, and images appear to show the horizontal stabilizer missing from the tail moments before the crash.
