Jeff Gregory Identified as Pilot of Learjet That Crashed in Florida

Jeff Gregory, 55, was identified as the pilot of a private Learjet 60 that crashed Sunday, Nov. 1, in Palm Beach County, Florida. Gregory was from Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania. His identity was confirmed by a former employer, East Coast Jets, and by records from the Federal Aviation Administration.

All nine people aboard the aircraft died. They included Gregory, copilot Nathalia Gadelha, 20, whose parents are from Brazil, and passengers traveling toward the Caribbean. The National Transportation Safety Board has sent investigators to the crash site in South Florida to determine what caused the plane to go down.

East Coast Jets, a private aviation company based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, said Gregory was at the controls when the aircraft crashed. He worked for the company from 2016 to 2017, and FAA records also support his professional history and his connection to Gilbertsville.

Relatives confirmed that Adam Robinson, his wife, Helen, and their two young children were among those killed. Gadelha also died at the scene. Limerick Chapel, a church in Limerick, Pennsylvania, is helping Gregory’s family with funeral arrangements.

In a statement to FOX 29, East Coast Jets expressed sorrow over the death of its former employee. “Our prayers are with Jeff’s family, his fellow crew member, the passengers and everyone affected by this devastating tragedy,” the company said.

The Learjet had departed from Texas and was headed to the Bahamas before an emergency was reported and the plane crashed in the Palm Beach area. Audio recordings captured a transmission to air traffic controllers in which the crew reported descending through 8,000 feet, declared “Mayday” twice and said the aircraft was descending at 10,000 feet per minute.