Federal officials say ice and severe weather were “certainly a factor” in Sunday afternoon’s private jet crash in Florida.
Nine people died when the Learjet 60 plunged onto a busy, multi-lane highway near 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 about a minute. It ultimately crashed into a residential section of the county, killing everyone aboard.
At 12.47pm, 20-year-old co-pilot Nathalia Filgueiras told the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Centre that the aircraft was experiencing “light, clear ice that is manageable and moderate turbulence.”
The twin-engine, Bombardier-built aircraft was cruising at 35,000 feet and had requested clearance to climb to 37,000 feet when it entered a thunderstorm cell at about 12.48pm.
The jet then plunged into a catastrophic descent of more than 20,000 feet per minute, leading the crew to declare an emergency.
The aircraft’s final transmission came at 12.49.17pm, when a crew member said: “We’re out of time.”
ADS-B Exchange flight-tracking data indicated that the Learjet fell approximately 27,000 feet in around 60 seconds before its signal disappeared.
Disturbing dashcam footage shows the Learjet 60 plunging into an intersection before bursting into flames
A meteorologist said the doomed Learjet may have flown directly into the centre of a thunderstorm before crashing in Palm Beach, Florida
Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, 20, was co-piloting the Learjet 60 and could be heard warning air traffic control in distressing audio that the aircraft was descending
Ice crystals can develop when moist air rises into colder parts of a storm system and cools. “Anytime you get moisture up in that cold air, you can get icing conditions,” Robert E. Joslin, a professor of practice in the aerospace engineering department at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, told the New York Times.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) warns that aircraft operating in icing conditions can face significant “operational risks.”
Ice can build up on the aircraft’s structure and engines, making it harder to maintain the correct flight path, airspeed and level altitude.
The NTSB says that even a quarter-inch of ice along a wing’s leading edge can “cause sudden departure from controlled flight.” Ice on certain systems can also cause instruments to stop working 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 and current instructor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, told the Times. “They thought at first it was light to moderate icing. But then it sounds like it got really severe.”
In those conditions, Bubb said, an aircraft can become “almost uncontrollable.” He suggested the Learjet may have stalled, leaving the crew unable to recover before the fatal crash.
Dr. Joslin said the aircraft would have faced increasing aerodynamic stress as it began to lose altitude. “When those airloads get excessive, it can also lead to structural failure, which can exacerbate the situation,” he said.
Ice forming on the cockpit windshields could also have limited the pilots’ view, removing an important backup for spotting terrain, other aircraft and dangerous weather, Joslin added.
As Filgueiras and the other pilot tried to guide the jet out of the worsening emergency, they may have been forced to fly with severely restricted visibility.
But even if ice was a factor, human error may have also played a part.
A Learjet 60 has three mechanisms for de-icing: electric heaters in the forward edge of the wings and horizontal stabilisers; an inflatable rubber bladder that can expand to break up ice; and the ability to circulate warm exhaust over the wings.
But for any of the de-icing options to work, ‘the pilots have to activate them,’ Mike McCormick, the former director of air traffic control at the Federal Aviation Administration and a professor at Embry-Riddle, told the newspaper.
‘So that’s going to be the big question,’ he added. ‘Were the pilots aware of and were they informed that they were entering into weather conditions that would contribute to ice accumulations?’
Gregory A. Feith, a former senior NTSB investigator, theorised that the jet probably encountered ‘clear ice’, suspended water droplets that cover much more area than other kinds of ice encountered in flight.
The pilots may have underestimated the damaging impact the ice had on the flight controls, he added.
They then attempted to deal with the turbulence by climbing, which may have induced a ‘violent pitchover,’ he said, triggering what’s known as a ‘tailplane stall’.
Investigators have not yet disclosed whether any structural failure took place, but some people on social media noticed that the jet’s horizontal stabilisers appeared to be missing in photographs from right before the plane hit the ground.
‘We do have some indication that the aircraft was breaking up before impact,’ Tom Chapman, a National Transportation Safety Board member, said at a news conference on Monday.
His remark suggests turbulence may have played a role in the crash.
As the jet approached the storm cell, Filgueiras described ‘moderate turbulence,’ with the Learjet experiencing changes in altitude of 600 to 700 feet, as per her remarks to the flight control centre in Miami.
‘That’s a lot of displacement for a turbulence encounter,’ said Patrick Smith, a pilot runs the aviation blog Ask the Pilot.
He posited that the horizontal stabilisers could have been ‘torn away by unusually strong turbulence or improper reaction to unusually strong turbulences,’ but caveated it was too early to tell.
Dr. Bubb said there was one clear lesson amid the tragedy.
‘This, to me, is just a textbook example of exactly what we’re taught when we’re pilots, and that is, don’t fly through thunderstorms, because you just don’t know their severity,’ he said.
Adam Robinson, 45, and his wife Helen Sharp, 40, were onboard the Learjet 60 alongside their toddlers Emma, four, and Charlie, two, when it crashed
Jeffrey Gregory, 55, of Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania, was piloting a Learjet 60 when it nosedived into a road near West Palm Beach, Florida on Sunday afternoon. He is pictured with his wife Cheryl. Source: JeffnCheryl Corbin-Gregory/Facebook
Jeffrey Gregory, 55, of Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania, was behind the controls of the business jet when it crashed in a fiery ball.
The pilot who could be heard in distressing cockpit audio reciting the Lord’s Prayer as the Learjet 60 he was flying nosedived in Florida.
He had been ferrying tech tycoon Adam Robinson, 45, Robinson’s wife Helen Sharp, 40, and their toddlers, Emma, four, and Charlie, two, from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas for Robinson’s birthday when the tragedy occurred, TMZ reports.
Robinson’s friends Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr, and the children’s nanny, Anita Maria Cetina, were also on the private flight.
As federal investigators now work to determine what may have caused the plane to tumble out of the sky at 20,000 feet per minute, the Limerick Chapel where Gregory grew up said he ‘went home to be with the Lord.’
David Peters, an old friend of Gregory’s and a former neighbour, also remembered the pilot as ‘very diligent and dependable.’
He told the US Sun how Gregory, a father of three adult children, had wanted to be a pilot from a young age, as he recalled how he ‘loved wearing his leather bomber jacket.’
Federal Aviation Administration records show Gregory was issued an Airline Transportation Pilot certificate on October 1, 2021, with ratings for multiple jet types – including the Learjet 60.
He also held a First Class medical certificate dated June 2026.
Close friend and colleague of Jeff Gregory, Thomas Noetzel has launched a fundraiser to support Gregory’s grieving wife and children.
Noetzel, of Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania, set up a GoFundMe campaign with a $16,000 goal to help Gregory’s family cover everyday expenses and provide financial support for his young daughters’ education.
Noetzel described Gregory as more than a colleague, crediting their friendship with making 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 is accepting both one-time and recurring donations, with Noetzel stressing that ongoing financial assistance would help Gregory’s wife and children in the months and years ahead.
‘Please consider donating or sharing this fundraiser,’ he wrote, urging supporters to help the family through their loss.
The fundraiser had collected $972 from eight donors toward its $16,000 goal as of Tuesday morning.
Family friend, Karin Brown, took to Facebook to share photographs of the family, writing beneath: ‘Remembering Jeff Gregory and thanking God for his life.’
Family friend, Karin Brown, took to Facebook to share photographs of the family
He ‘always seemed to have a bent towards righteousness. Came from a godly family who ministered at Limerick Chapel,’ wrote Brown.
He ‘always seemed to have a bent towards righteousness. 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,’ she added.
Gregory had previously worked for East Coast Aviation, an Allentown-based aviation company from 2016 through 2017, and was a flight instructor with several decades of experience, according to his LinkedIn page.
Following the news of his untimely passing, friends shared their condolences on Gregory and his wife 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 said she pictured ‘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.’
It remains unclear what may have caused the Learjet to plummet into the ground in the town of Greenacres, Florida, where it left a massive crater and destroyed nearby infrastructure.
But when the business jet was heading east over Florida at 35,000 feet, the flight’s co-pilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras could be heard warning air traffic control that the aircraft was coming down.
‘Descending 20,000ft per minute… we’re going to crash into the ground,’ the co-pilot said, as Gregory could be heard reciting the Lord’s Prayer in the background.
Audio from the cockpit captured the young co-pilot attempting to describe the crisis in the Learjet 60 aircraft to air traffic control in the moments before it went down.
She could be heard saying the aircraft had banked 60 degrees, meaning it was flying sideways, and she was noting the altitude changes.
The Daily Mail has chosen not to publish the final seconds of audio, which are extremely distressing.
Filgueiras had also been messaging her fellow pilot boyfriend about facing heavy weather in the minutes before the plane crashed.
Her family told the New York Post that before the crash, Filgueiras texted her boyfriend, Justin: ‘I’ve got turbulence, I’ve got ice.’
NTSB officials say they believe severe weather was a ‘significant factor’ in the disaster and that part of the jet appeared to have broken off before the crash – which occurred just eight miles from President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago country club.
The president and Air Force One took off from Palm Beach International Airport just an hour before the crash landing, as Trump tried to rally support for Republicans ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections.
Robinson’s friends, Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr (pictured) were also killed in the crash
The family’s nanny, Anita Maria Apellido Cetina (pictured), was on board. The victims’ families said she will have a ‘legacy of unconditional love and devotion’
The impact left a massive crater in the middle of the road, damaging nearby infrastructure
Some aviation experts now believe the plane may have fallen foul of ‘coffin corner’ while trying to climb above two storm systems.
Coffin corner is a phenomenon whereby the jet’s minimum safe speed and maximum safe speed converge into a very narrow range at high altitude, making it extremely difficult to fly safely.
If the plane goes too slow or fast it will stall and quickly become uncontrollable.
As the NTSB now continues to investigate what caused the plane to fall out of the sky, the victims’ families remembered Adam and Helen as ‘devoted parents’ and that their children ‘were the light of their lives’.
‘Helen and Adam were the love affair that will last forever,’ the 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 all those who loved them and who 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,’ read a statement from her family.
‘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.’