The captain of the Learjet that crashed in Palm Beach County on Sunday has been identified as Jeff Gregory, a 55 year old husband and father from Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania.
East Coast Jets, a private charter company based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where Gregory flew in 2016 and 2017, confirmed he was the captain. In a statement to FOX 29, the company said its prayers were with Gregory’s family, his fellow crew member, the passengers and everyone affected by the crash. Federal Aviation Administration records list Gregory as an airline transport pilot and flight instructor certified to fly several Learjet models, and show he lived in Gilbertsville, about 35 miles northwest of Philadelphia.
Those who knew Gregory are remembering him as a man of deep faith who loved to fly. A longtime colleague who called him a close personal friend started a GoFundMe for his family, and friends on social media described him as devoted, conscientious and passionate about aviation. Limerick Chapel in Limerick, Pennsylvania, is working with his family on funeral arrangements.
Gregory was flying alongside 20 year old co-pilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras. The National Transportation Safety Board says it is not yet clear which of the two pilots was at the controls when the jet went down. Aviation attorney John Gagliano told FOX 29 it was an experienced crew and that Filgueiras held every license the job required.
The private jet was flying from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas when it went down around 12:50 p.m. Sunday in Greenacres, a community in Palm Beach County about seven miles southwest of West Palm Beach. The plane nosedived onto a busy stretch of Military Trail near a mobile home neighborhood and burst into flames. All nine people on board were killed, and one person on the ground suffered a leg injury.
The seven passengers have been identified by their families as Austin tech founder Adam Robinson, his wife Helen Sharp, their young children Emma and Charlie, family friends Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr, and the children’s nanny, Anita Maria Apellido Cetina.
Air traffic control recordings captured the crew’s final moments. A pilot reported, “We’re managing the ice, but it is moderate turbulence,” before declaring a mayday as the jet began dropping 10,000 feet per minute, then 20,000 feet per minute. Seconds later, the pilot said, “We’re going to crash into the ground.” An unidentified man can also be heard on the recordings reciting the Lord’s Prayer.
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Filgueiras earned her pilot’s license at 17 and had logged more than 1,300 hours of flight time, according to her family. She was working for a private charter company based in Fort Lauderdale.
At a press conference Monday, the NTSB laid out the final minutes of the flight. At about 12:47 p.m., while cruising at 35,000 feet, the crew told air traffic control they were dealing with light clear ice and moderate turbulence, with the plane drifting about 700 feet up and down. They reported an outside temperature of minus 47 degrees Celsius, or minus 53 degrees Fahrenheit, said they were managing the ice and asked to climb to 37,000 feet. Shortly after, the jet went into an overspeed condition and began a rapid descent.
Investigators said severe weather is believed to have been a significant factor and that early evidence suggests the jet may have started breaking apart before it hit the ground. The cause of the crash involving Jeff Gregory and his crew has not been determined. The NTSB typically releases a preliminary report within about 30 days.
