Captain Jeffrey Gregory, a 55-year-old pilot remembered for his lifelong love of flying, has been identified as one of nine people killed when a private jet crashed in Palm Beach County, Florida.
Gregory was aboard the Learjet 60 with co-pilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, 20, and seven passengers when the aircraft went down on Sunday, November 1. The flight had departed Austin, Texas, and was headed to North Eleuthera in the Bahamas.
A family member confirmed Gregory’s identity to TMZ. His longtime friend David Peters later spoke to The U.S. Sun about the pilot’s childhood, family and devotion to aviation.
Gregory leaves behind his wife, Cheryl, 53, and their older children.
A childhood ambition that became a career
Peters told The U.S. Sun that he and Gregory grew up attending Limerick Chapel in Limerick, Pennsylvania. Their parents worked at the church, and the two boys were neighbors who attended a small Christian school. They later worked together locally.
Peters described Gregory as “very diligent and dependable” and said he had dreamed of becoming a pilot from a young age. He also remembered his friend’s love of wearing a leather bomber jacket.
“I know he worked hard to become a pilot and it was something he truly loved and poured his life and heart into,” Peters said.
The church sent an email about Gregory following his death, according to Peters, who remembered him as a devoted family man with a strong faith.
Federal Aviation Administration records reviewed by The U.S. Sun showed that Gregory held an Airline Transport Pilot certificate issued in October 2021, with ratings for multiple aircraft types, including the Learjet 60.
His Learjet 60 qualification did not carry a pilot-in-command restriction. A separate rating did have such a limitation, but the outlet reported that it did not apply to his Learjet 60 qualification.
Families remember the passengers
The passengers included Adam Robinson, 45; his wife, Helen Sharp, 40; and their children, Emma, 4, and Charlie, 2. The family was traveling with their nanny, Anita Maria Apellido Cetina, and friends Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr.
In a statement, the victims’ relatives remembered Robinson and Sharp as devoted parents and said their children were “the light of their lives.”
They described Reed and Fehr as people who were “full of joy and adventure” and said Cetina cared for the children with tenderness and devotion. The families asked for privacy as they grieved.
Sharp’s father, Dudley Sharp, also spoke to The Palm Beach Post about the loss.
“It’s quite a blow,” he said. “We had a daughter, her husband and two grandchildren on the plane.”
Investigators examine the final moments
The National Transportation Safety Board said ice had begun forming on the aircraft amid moderate turbulence. The crew requested permission to climb from 35,000 to 37,000 feet shortly before declaring an emergency.
In air traffic control audio, Filgueiras reported that the jet was descending rapidly. A male voice could also be heard appearing to recite the Lord’s Prayer.
The aircraft crashed into a residential area around 12:50 p.m. Video captured the impact and the large fireball that followed. Debris was scattered through the neighborhood, nearby homes were damaged and about 600 residents were evacuated, according to The U.S. Sun.
The NTSB is investigating, and the cause of the crash has not been established.
