Former NFL running back Joe Mixon has revealed that he was aboard the private jet that crashed in Florida weeks before the incident. Nine people died when the Learjet 60 plunged onto a highway in Palm Beach County.
Mixon, who played for the Cincinnati Bengals and Houston Texans, shared on social media that he had flown on the same aircraft about a month prior to the crash, and with the same two pilots. He described them as "incredible professionals and genuinely wonderful people."
"Absolutely devastated by yesterday’s tragic plane crash in Florida and the loss of all nine lives," Mixon wrote on X. "I flew on that exact aircraft last month with those same two pilots. ... My heart, thoughts, and prayers go out to the grieving families and loved ones of everyone on board. A tragic reminder of how fragile life is."
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) stated that the jet may have been breaking apart before the crash. Investigators are focusing on weather conditions as a significant factor in the incident. NTSB member Tom Chapman noted that the agency needs to determine the weather conditions at altitude.
The victims of the crash have been identified as pilot Jeff Gregory, 55; co-pilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, 20; Texas tech entrepreneur Adam Robinson, 45, who was traveling with his wife Helen Sharp and their two children; and Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr, who were traveling together.
Filgueiras, an aspiring commercial pilot, had earned her private pilot's license at 17 and graduated from American Flyers flight school.