Federal officials say ice and severe weather were “certainly a factor” in Sunday afternoon’s private jet crash in Florida.
Nine people died when a Learjet 60 plunged onto a busy multi-lane highway outside Palm Beach and erupted in a massive fireball.
The $2 million business jet was flying from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas when it lost more than 25,000 feet in roughly a minute, crashing into a residential area and killing everyone aboard.
“We have light, clear ice that is manageable and moderate turbulence,” 20-year-old co-pilot Nathalia Filgueiras told the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center at 12:47 p.m.
The twin-engine, Bombardier-built aircraft was cruising at 35,000 feet and had requested permission to climb to 37,000 feet when it entered a thunderstorm cell at approximately 12:48 p.m.
The jet then went into a catastrophic dive of more than 20,000 feet per minute, prompting the crew to declare an emergency.
The final transmission came at 12:49:17 p.m.: “We’re out of time.”
ADS-B Exchange flight data indicated that the aircraft dropped about 27,000 feet in approximately one minute before its tracking signal disappeared.
Disturbing dashcam footage shows the Learjet 60 plunging into an intersection before bursting into flames
A meteorologist suggested the doomed Learjet may have flown directly into the center of a thunderstorm before crashing near Palm Beach, Florida
Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, 20, was co-piloting the Learjet 60 and was heard warning air traffic control that the aircraft was losing altitude
When moist storm air rises and cools, ice crystals can develop. “Anytime you get moisture up in that cold air, you can get icing conditions,” Robert E. Joslin, a professor of practice in aerospace engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, told The New York Times.
The National Transportation Safety Board has warned that flight in icing conditions can create significant “operational risks.”
Ice can build up on the airframe and engines, making it harder for an aircraft to maintain its course, speed and altitude.
The NTSB says that as little as a quarter-inch of ice on a wing’s leading edge can “cause sudden departure from controlled flight.” Ice on sensors and other equipment can also disable flight instruments or distort readings for airspeed, altitude and vertical speed.
“It sounds like the plane iced when they flew through the cell,” Daniel Bubb, a former pilot who now teaches at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, told the Times. “They initially thought it was light to moderate icing, but then it sounds like conditions became extremely severe.”
“The plane can become almost uncontrollable,” he added. Bubb said the aircraft may have stalled and that the crew was unable to recover before the crash.
Dr. Joslin said the Learjet’s aerodynamic stresses would have increased sharply as it began losing altitude. “When those airloads get excessive, it can also lead to structural failure, which can exacerbate the situation,” he said.
Ice on the cockpit windshields could also have limited the pilots’ view, removing an important backup for detecting terrain, other aircraft and dangerous weather, he said.
As Filgueiras and the other pilot tried to regain control, they may have been struggling to see outside the aircraft.
Even if icing contributed to the crash, investigators have not ruled out human error or other factors.
The Learjet 60 is equipped with three de-icing systems: electric heaters along the leading edges of the wings and horizontal stabilizers, inflatable rubber boots that break ice away from the aircraft, and a system that directs warm engine exhaust over the wings.
However, each system must be activated by the crew. “The pilots have to activate them,” Mike McCormick, a former Federal Aviation Administration air traffic control director and professor at Embry-Riddle, told the newspaper.
“So that’s going to be the big question,” he said. “Were the pilots aware of, and were they informed about, the weather conditions that could lead to ice accumulation?”
Gregory A. Feith, a former senior NTSB investigator, said the aircraft may have encountered “clear ice”—supercooled water droplets that can spread across a larger surface area than other types of in-flight ice.
The pilots may not have fully appreciated how severely the ice was affecting the aircraft’s flight controls, he said.
Feith said the crew may then have attempted to escape the turbulence by climbing, potentially triggering a violent pitch change and a condition known as a tailplane stall.
Investigators have not confirmed whether the aircraft suffered a structural failure. However, photographs taken shortly before impact led some social media users to question whether the Learjet’s horizontal stabilizers were missing.
“We do have some indication that the aircraft was breaking up before impact,” Tom Chapman, an NTSB board member, said at a news conference Monday.
His comments raised the possibility that extreme turbulence contributed to the crash.
As the Learjet neared the storm cell, Filgueiras reported “moderate turbulence.” According to her communications with Miami air traffic control, the aircraft was experiencing altitude changes of between 600 and 700 feet.
“That’s a lot of displacement for a turbulence encounter,” said Patrick Smith, a pilot who runs the aviation blog Ask the Pilot.
Smith said the horizontal stabilizers could have been “torn away by unusually strong turbulence or improper reaction to unusually strong turbulence,” while emphasizing that it was too early to reach a firm conclusion.
Bubb said the crash underscored a basic lesson taught to pilots.
“To me, this is a textbook example of exactly what pilots are taught: don’t fly through thunderstorms, because you simply don’t know how severe they are,” he said.
Adam Robinson, 45, and his wife, Helen Sharp, 40, were aboard the Learjet 60 with their children Emma, four, and Charlie, two
Jeffrey Gregory, 55, of Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania, was piloting the Learjet 60 when it crashed near West Palm Beach, Florida. He is pictured with his wife, Cheryl. Source: JeffnCheryl Corbin-Gregory/Facebook
Jeffrey Gregory, 55, of Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania, was at the controls when the business jet crashed in a fireball.
In distressing cockpit audio, the pilot could be heard reciting the Lord’s Prayer as the Learjet 60 plunged toward the ground in Florida.
Gregory was flying technology executive Adam Robinson, 45, Robinson’s wife, Helen Sharp, 40, and their two young children, Emma, four, and Charlie, two, from Austin to the Bahamas for Robinson’s birthday when the crash occurred, TMZ reported.
Robinson’s friends Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr, along with the family’s nanny, Anita Maria Cetina, were also aboard the private flight.
As federal investigators work to determine why the jet descended at roughly 20,000 feet per minute, the Limerick Chapel where Gregory grew up said he had “gone home to be with the Lord.”
David Peters, a longtime friend and former neighbor, remembered Gregory as “very diligent and dependable.”
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Peters told The U.S. Sun that Gregory, a father of three adult children, had dreamed of becoming a pilot since childhood and “loved wearing his leather bomber jacket.”
Federal Aviation Administration records show Gregory received an Airline Transport Pilot certificate on October 1, 2021, with ratings for several aircraft types, including the Learjet 60.
He also held a First Class medical certificate dated June 2026.
Thomas Noetzel, a close friend and colleague, has launched a fundraiser to help Gregory’s wife and children.
Noetzel, who is also from Gilbertsville, created a GoFundMe campaign with a $16,000 target. The money is intended to help the family meet daily expenses and support the education of Gregory’s young daughters.
Noetzel described Gregory as more than a colleague, saying their friendship had helped make him a better person.
“Jeff was also a personal friend, and knowing him has made me a better person,” he wrote on the fundraising page.
The campaign accepts one-time and recurring donations. Noetzel said continued support would help Gregory’s wife and children cope financially in the months and years ahead.
“Please consider donating or sharing this fundraiser,” he wrote, appealing for help for the grieving family.
By Tuesday morning, the fundraiser had received $972 from eight donors toward its $16,000 goal.
Family friend Karin Brown shared photographs of the family on Facebook, writing: “Remembering Jeff Gregory and thanking God for his life.”
Family friend Karin Brown shared photographs of the Gregory family on Facebook
“He always seemed to have a bent toward righteousness. Came from a godly family who ministered at Limerick Chapel,” Brown wrote.
“He always seemed to have a bent toward righteousness. [He] came from a godly family who ministered at Limerick Chapel. His dear wife, Cheryl, came and stayed with us in Africa when she did a short-term missions trip,” Brown added.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Gregory previously worked for East Coast Aviation, an Allentown-based company, from 2016 to 2017. He was also a flight instructor with several decades of aviation experience.
After news of his death emerged, friends posted messages of condolence on Gregory and Cheryl’s joint Facebook page.
“Our hearts are breaking for you, Cheryl,” one friend wrote. “Praying that you will know the hope and comfort that only our Savior can give.”
Another friend wrote that she imagined “Jeff bowing his head and closing his eyes, preparing his heart to see Jesus while praying the Lord’s Prayer.”
“And as his co-pilot was yelling at him to look out the window, I am sure he was praying for you, Cheryl, and your beautiful family,” the message continued.
The cause of the crash remains unknown. The Learjet slammed into the ground in Greenacres, Florida, leaving a large crater and damaging infrastructure nearby.
As the aircraft traveled east across Florida at 35,000 feet, co-pilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras could be heard warning air traffic control that the jet was falling.
“Descending 20,000 feet per minute… we’re going to crash into the ground,” Filgueiras said, while Gregory could be heard reciting the Lord’s Prayer in the background.
The cockpit recording captured Filgueiras trying to explain the emergency to air traffic controllers during the final moments before impact.
She reported that the aircraft had reached a 60-degree bank, meaning it was nearly flying on its side, and continued describing its rapidly changing altitude.
The Daily Mail has chosen not to publish the final seconds of the recording because of its extremely distressing nature.
In the minutes before the crash, Filgueiras was also messaging her pilot boyfriend about the hazardous weather.
Her family told the New York Post that she texted her boyfriend, Justin: “I’ve got turbulence, I’ve got ice.”
NTSB officials said severe weather appeared to be a “significant factor” in the disaster. They also said part of the aircraft may have separated before impact, which occurred about eight miles from President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
Trump and Air Force One had departed Palm Beach International Airport about an hour before the crash as the president sought to rally Republican support ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections.
Robinson’s friends Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr were also killed in the crash
The family’s nanny, Anita Maria Apellido Cetina, was also aboard. Her family described her legacy as one of “unconditional love and devotion”
The impact created a huge crater in the road and damaged nearby infrastructure
Some aviation experts believe the aircraft may have encountered “coffin corner” while attempting to climb above two storm systems.
Coffin corner occurs at high altitude when an aircraft’s minimum safe speed and maximum safe speed converge, leaving pilots with an extremely narrow margin for safe flight.
If the aircraft slows down or accelerates beyond that limited range, it can stall and quickly become uncontrollable.
The NTSB investigation continues as the victims’ families remember Adam and Helen as devoted parents whose children “were the light of their lives.”
“Helen and Adam were the love affair that will last forever,” their families said in a joint statement.
“Their warmth, generosity and gift for making people feel welcome touched so many lives. Their loss will be felt deeply by everyone who loved them and whom they loved in return.”
The statement continued: “Charmi and Rachel were full of joy and adventure. They loved their people fiercely, fully and without hesitation. From the moment they met, they were all in on each other and the life they were building. They are deeply loved, and we will miss them endlessly.”
“Anita Maria cared for Emma and Charlie with tenderness and devotion, and she was truly part of the family. She showed us a legacy of unconditional love and devotion.”
“On behalf of friends and family, it is with a heavy heart that we share that our dearest Helen was taken from us too soon,” her family said in a separate statement.
“To know Helen was to love her. The number of people grieving Helen and Adam is a testament to how many people were lucky enough to have them in their lives.”
