Nine people were killed when a private Learjet 60 crashed in Greenacres, Palm Beach County, Florida, on Saturday, including a 20-year-old co-pilot who had earned her pilot’s license before her driver’s license and a Texas technology entrepreneur traveling with his wife and two young children.
The aircraft, which departed Austin, Texas, and was bound for the Bahamas, went down near homes and a roadway in the early hours, leaving a large crater and scattering debris across a wide area. Authorities confirmed that all nine occupants died, but no injuries or deaths were reported among people on the ground despite the crash occurring in a populated area.
Among the dead was Natalia Gadelha Pilegiiras, 20, a co-pilot from Florida of Brazilian descent who had accumulated more than 1,300 flight hours and worked for a private charter company based in Fort Lauderdale. The captain was identified as Jeff Gregory, 55, an experienced pilot from Pennsylvania.
Final transmissions: “We’re going to crash”
Air-traffic-control recordings from the flight’s last minutes capture the crew reporting severe icing and moderate turbulence while cruising at roughly 35,000 feet. The crew requested and received clearance to climb another 2,000 feet to escape the rough conditions. Within moments, however, the situation deteriorated rapidly.
According to the recordings, the pilots declared an emergency as the jet began losing altitude at an extreme rate — first reported at 8,000 feet per minute, then 10,000 feet per minute, and finally 20,000 feet per minute, more than six kilometers per minute. A voice identified as Pilegiiras was heard calling “Mayday, mayday, we’re losing altitude” and, moments later, warning: “We’re going to crash.” Other reports from the cockpit included reports that the aircraft’s speed exceeded its limits.
Dashcam footage shows the jet banking sharply to the right, plunging toward the ground at a steep angle and exploding in a large fireball near residences and a road. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who visited the scene, described the impact as catastrophic, saying it looked like a missile diving into the ground and leaving a massive crater beside the road.
In a news conference on Monday, the National Transportation Safety Board said investigators had found indications that parts of the aircraft separated from the fuselage before it struck the ground, and that debris may be found at a considerable distance from the main crash site. Board member Tom Chapman said the possibility that icing, turbulence and excessive speed contributed to the loss of control is under examination, but no cause has been determined.
Who was aboard the Learjet 60
The passengers included Adam Robinson, 44, a technology entrepreneur from Austin, Texas; his wife, Helen; their two children, Emma, 4, and Charley, 2; the children’s caregiver, Anita; and two close family friends, Rachel Reid and Charmie Pahar. A relative described the loss as devastating, saying, “It’s a very hard blow. We lost a daughter, her husband and two grandchildren.”
Pilegiiras had dreamed of flying since age 12 and regularly visited Boca Raton Airport with her father to watch planes take off and land. She obtained her private pilot’s license in September 2023 at age 17 — before getting her driver’s license — and later became a flight instructor. In a 2023 interview with a local CBS affiliate, she said with a smile, “I’m definitely proud of that, because people tell me ‘you can’t drive,’ and I answer them: ‘Yes, but I can fly.'” Her mother, Kamila Courtlete, told reporters she had always feared her daughter’s love of aviation would cost her dearly. “I always knew a plane would take her from me,” she said.
About ten minutes before the crash, Pilegiiras sent a message to her boyfriend describing the turbulence and ice accumulating on the aircraft.
Authorities said hundreds of residents were affected by the crash. Occupants of about 77 nearby caravans were evacuated to a temporary shelter, and several roads remain closed. One nearby home was damaged, and a resident, Anthony Blackmon, told a local NBC affiliate: “Debris was everywhere. Debris hit my house. Everything was on fire, the whole road was burning. I’ve always seen things like this on the news, but I never thought it would happen so close to me.”
Investigators continue to examine the wreckage, flight data and cockpit recordings to determine what caused the jet to lose tens of thousands of feet within a single minute. The crash site will remain closed until evidence collection is complete, and the investigation is expected to take considerable time.
Earlier coverage: Learjet 60 crash in Palm Beach County kills nine people
