An innocent social media post by a Florida pilot about flying Lenny Kravitz accidentally fueled alarming online rumors that the singer had died in a plane crash over the weekend.
Nathalia Gadelha, 20, was serving as co-pilot aboard a Learjet 60 when the aircraft crashed near West Palm Beach on Sunday.
The jet reportedly banked at a 60-degree angle, leaving it flying almost sideways, before erupting into a fireball beside the road. All nine people aboard were killed.
Following the tragedy, Kravitz, 62, began trending across social media as fans wrongly assumed he was among those killed. The confusion stemmed from a pilot’s post about flying the musician along the same route as the doomed jet.
‘The reports [of Kravitz’s death] are untrue and incorrect,’ Kravitz’s rep, Carleen Donovan told The Daily Mail on Monday.
Rumors that Kravitz had been aboard the aircraft spread rapidly after a female pilot, incorrectly identified online as the jet’s pilot, said she would be flying him along the Learjet 60’s flight path.
In a post that has since been deleted, Emily Shelton wrote: ‘Honored to be flying the one and only Lenny Kravitz from [Austin-Bergstrom International Airport] to [North Eleuthera Airport, Bahamas] tomorrow.
A Florida pilot’s innocent post about flying Lenny Kravitz inadvertently sparked terrifying rumors the singer had been killed in a plane crash over the weekend – pictured September 2025
The Learjet 60 crashed near West Palm Beach on Sunday. It banked 60 degrees, meaning it was flying sideways, before crashing – pictured
‘Looking forward to having him on board. It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over is gonna be playing in the cockpit.’
Shelton later addressed the speculation on TikTok, explaining that she was not the pilot involved in the crash: ‘I was recently made aware that there are rumors that I was the pilot of the recent crash in Palm Beach.
‘I would like to respectfully clarify I was not. I ask that people please stop speculating and spreading misinformation on this tragedy and be respectful of those involved.
‘My heart goes out to all those lost and affected.’
Relatives of co-pilot Gadelha confirmed to The New York Post that she was at the controls when the aircraft plunged to the ground.
Gadelha was raised in Palm Beach County and appeared in a local news report after earning her pilot’s license in 2023, when she was 17.
Speaking to CBS12, she said: ‘I definitely do brag because people say, “Oh, you can’t drive,” and I’m like, “Yeah, but I can fly”.’
Her mother, Camila, frequently posted photos of Gadelha and her siblings traveling on private aircraft. Her father, Allan, also held a pilot’s license.
Nathalia Gadelha, 20, was co-piloting the Learjet 60
The crash left a huge crater in the center of the road and damaged nearby infrastructure
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After the fatal crash, Kravitz trended online as fans mistakenly believed the 62-year-old musician had died, following a pilot’s post about flying him along the same route as the doomed aircraft
‘The reports are untrue and incorrect,’ Kravitz’s rep, Carleen Donovan told The Daily Mail on Monday – Kravitz pictured with a private jet in 2019
Shelton later took to TikTok to confirm she was not the pilot and branded the rumors ‘misinformation’
Camila told The New York Times: ‘She loved the freedom. It was completely different seeing the world from the top.’
The man, who has not been identified, could be heard saying ‘who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name’ in air traffic control audio released in the wake of Sunday’s crash in West Palm Beach, Florida.
While the man prayed, Gadelha could be heard saying that the Learjet 60 had banked 60 degrees, meaning it was flying sideways.
Moments later, the plane crashed in a fireball by the side of the road, killing all nine people who were on board.
The identities of the rest onboard have yet to be released, with officials set to hold a press conference and share more information later on Monday.
Initial speculation has pointed to stormy weather as a possible cause for the crash, which happened as the $2 million business jet was flying from Austin in Texas to the Bahamas.
Some aviation experts have suggested the plane may have fallen foul of ‘coffin corner’ while trying to climb above two storm systems, known as cells.
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 too fast it will stall and quickly become uncontrollable.
Former pilot Martin Varsavsky, who now runs his own AI firm, posted to X saying that he believed that bad weather in the area could have caused the fatal error.
He said: ‘The radars clearly showed those cells; in light jets, the rule is to deviate with a good margin, not to fly through them – this could be an error by the woman who was piloting.
‘What storms do by changing the outside temperature is that airplanes can no longer stay aloft at the same speed. It’s called the coffin corner. Or they become very difficult to keep under control.’
Officials do not believe the road where the plane crashed will be open for another month
Weather conditions in the West Palm Beach area on Sunday afternoon were poor, overcast with rain and lightning in the area and winds from the east at 15 mph, gusting to near 25 mph. The National Weather Service in Miami said visibility was seven miles.
The flight had set off from Austin, Texas, bound for North Eleuthera in the Bahamas before its path abruptly ended just near West Palm Beach, according to flight data.
The impact left debris scattered across a significant distance and a massive crater in the road, but authorities said nobody on the ground was injured or killed in the crash.