A private Learjet 60 crashed in Palm Beach County, Florida, killing all nine people aboard, including pilot Jeff Gregory and copilot Nathalia Gadelha. (Foto: Instagram)
Jeff Gregory, a 55-year-old pilot from Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania, was identified as the commander of the private Learjet 60 that crashed in Palm Beach County, Florida, on Sunday, Nov. 1. His identity was confirmed by a former employer and supported by Federal Aviation Administration records.
All nine people aboard the aircraft died, including Gregory and his copilot, 20-year-old Nathalia Gadelha, the daughter of Brazilian parents. The passengers were traveling toward the Caribbean. Among those killed were Adam Robinson, his wife, Helen, and their two young children, whose deaths were confirmed by relatives.
Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board are working at the crash site in South Florida to determine what caused the plane to go down. East Coast Jets, a private aviation company based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, said Gregory was piloting the aircraft at the time of impact. He worked for the company from 2016 to 2017, and FAA records also confirmed his connection to Gilbertsville.
Limerick Chapel, a church in Limerick, Pennsylvania, is helping Gregory’s family with funeral arrangements. In a statement to FOX 29, East Coast Jets expressed grief over the death of its former employee: “Our prayers are with Jeff’s family, his fellow crew member, the passengers, and everyone affected by this devastating tragedy.”
The Learjet 60 had departed Texas and was headed for the Bahamas before the emergency and crash near Palm Beach. Audio recordings captured a distress call to air traffic controllers in the moments before impact. The pilot said the aircraft was descending at 8,000 feet, declared “Mayday” twice, and reported a descent rate of 10,000 feet per minute.
