Jeff Gregory, Philadelphia pilot, dies in Palm Beach crash
The 55-year-old captain of a Learjet 60 was among nine people killed when the aircraft broke apart and crashed in Greenacres, Florida, on Sunday.
By Rafael Collins ·
Jeff Gregory, a 55-year-old pilot from the Philadelphia suburbs, died in a small plane crash in Florida on Sunday. He was one of nine people killed when a Learjet 60 hit the ground in Greenacres, located about seven miles southwest of West Palm Beach.
The aircraft departed from Austin, Texas, and was bound for the Bahamas. During the flight, the pilot and his 20-year-old co-pilot, Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, reported severe weather conditions. Filgueiras told air traffic controllers that ice was accumulating on the plane and that severe turbulence had shaken the aircraft up and down by more than 700 feet. In the final radio transmissions, a male voice recited the Lord's Prayer. Friends and colleagues believe the voice belonged to Gregory, who was known as a devout Christian.
Filgueiras shouted, "We're going to die!" moments before the jet struck the ground and burst into flames. Federal investigators said on Monday that several parts of the aircraft likely detached before the impact. The crash created a crater and scattered debris across a wide area. Approximately 600 nearby residents remain displaced, though only one person on the ground was reported injured.
Images captured just before the impact appear to show that the horizontal stabilizer on the tail was missing. Tom Chapman, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, stated that weather will be a key focus of the investigation. A preliminary report is expected within a month, but determining the cause of the accident could take more than a year.
Gregory held airline transport pilot and flight instructor certificates from the Federal Aviation Administration. He lived in Gilbertsville, about 35 miles northwest of Philadelphia. He previously worked for a charter flight company based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and for East Coast Jets, Inc., where he was employed in 2016 and 2017. Thomas Noetzel, director of operations at Upper Jets, the company that operated the fatal flight, organized an online fund to support Gregory's wife and children.
Noetzel described Gregory as a close friend and personal acquaintance, writing that knowing him had made him a better person. Walter, Noetzel's father, posted on Facebook that Gregory was a dedicated and deeply faithful man with a genuine passion for flying and a great love for the Lord. He noted that while Gregory's journey on Earth had ended, he believed the pilot was now flying among the angels.
April Honnen, director of charter sales at East Coast Jets, Inc., expressed deep sorrow over the loss of Gregory. She said the company's prayers were with his family, his crew member, the passengers, and all those affected by the tragedy. Among the victims were technology entrepreneur Adam Robinson, his wife Helen Sharp, and their two young children, according to family members.
Thiago Corteleti, the stepfather of co-pilot Filgueiras, told the New York Post that she texted her boyfriend about 10 minutes before the accident. The message read, "There is turbulence, there is ice."
