Montgomery County man was pilot of the jet that crashed in Florida
The veteran pilot of the jet that crashed in South Florida killing all nine people on board — including 20-year-old copilot, Nathalia Filgueiras — was Jeff Gregory, of Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania.
The pilot of the Learjet 60 that crashed in South Florida Sunday and left nine people dead has been identified as a Montgomery County man who previously worked for an Allentown-based aviation company.
Jeffrey Gregory, 55, of Gilbertsville, obtained his transport pilot’s license in 2021 and was certified to fly multiple Learjet models, according to Federal Aviation Administration records. He became a certified flight instructor for single-engine and multiengine aircraft in April 2025.
According to his LinkedIn, Gregory began working at East Coast Jets, a private jet charter company in Allentown. In a statement provided to multiple news outlets, the company confirmed Gregory worked there from 2016 to 2017 and expressed condolences for this “heartbreaking tragedy.”
Gregory grew up attending Limerick Chapel in Pennsylvania, with his parents working at the church, and always dreamed of flying, according to a former neighbor who spoke with the US Sun.
He’s being remembered in social media tributes as a loving father, husband, and aerophile.
In audio transmissions from the plane’s descent, a male voice could be heard reciting the Lord’s Prayer. John Goldfuss, who attended Bob Jones University with Gregory, said on Facebook he had “no doubt” it was Gregory’s voice.
Thomas Noetzel, the director of operations at the company that operated the flight, Upper Jets, organized an online fundraiser to support Gregory’s wife and children. Upper Jets said in a previous statement it was fully cooperating with investigations surrounding the crash and pledged to support the victims’ families.
Noetzel called Gregory a close friend. “Knowing him has made me a better person,” he wrote on the GoFundMe page, which had raised over $6,000 as of publication time.
“Jeff was a devoted, conscientious, and deeply faithful man who had a genuine passion for flying and a strong love for the Lord,” Noetzel’s father, Walter, posted on Facebook. “His journey on earth may have ended, but I like to think he is now flying among the angels, soaring peacefully in the presence of our Lord.”
The National Transportation Safety Board is leading an investigation into the crash alongside the Federal Aviation Administration.
Federal investigators suspect the business jet was already breaking apart before it slammed into the ground in Greenacres, just southwest of West Palm Beach, Fla., and erupted into a fireball. Thick black smoke engulfed the crash site, and little remained of the plane.
The private jet had been traveling from Texas to the Bahamas.
Nine people were aboard the plane, including 20-year-old copilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, who made the final radio transmissions; technology entrepreneur Adam Robinson; his wife, Helen Sharp; their two young children, Emma and Charlie; the family’s nanny, Anita Maria Cetina; and couple Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr.
The jet did a steep nosedive, leaving behind a crater and a wide debris field as rain pounded the area. One injury was reported on the ground, and about 600 nearby residents remain displaced.
Authorities said weather would be a key initial focus of the investigation, and the National Transportation Safety Board would also examine the actions of the crew and look for any mechanical problems with the plane.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
