Former NFL running back Joe Mixon says he was a passenger on the exact Learjet 60 that crashed and killed nine people in Palm Beach County, Florida, just one month before the fatal flight.
The two-time Pro Bowler, who played for the Cincinnati Bengals and Houston Texans, wrote on X on Monday that he flew on the aircraft with the same two pilots who were later killed in the crash.
“Absolutely devastated by yesterday’s tragic plane crash in Florida and the loss of all nine lives. I flew on that exact aircraft last month with those same two pilots. They were incredible professionals and genuinely wonderful people. Hearing the young woman’s story and learning about the bright future she had ahead of her makes it even more heartbreaking that her life was cut so short.”
“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. Love on your loved ones while you can, because you never know what tomorrow may bring.”
The jet went down in a Palm Beach County neighborhood on Sunday. On Monday, the National Transportation Safety Board said there were indications the aircraft began breaking apart before it hit the ground, and investigators are focusing heavily on weather conditions as a possible cause.
“The weather conditions are a major focus of the investigation,” NTSB member Tom Chapman said at a news conference. “You all saw what the weather was like here at the surface. What we have to determine is what the weather conditions were like at altitude.”
All nine people aboard the plane were identified Monday:
- Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, 20, co-pilot
- Jeff Gregory, 55, pilot in charge
- Adam Robinson, 45, a Texas tech entrepreneur
- Helen Sharp, Robinson’s wife
- Their two children
- Rachael Reed
- Charmi Fehr
Gadelha Filgueiras was from Palm Beach County and had earned her private pilot’s license at age 17, before she had her driver’s license. She trained through her high school’s aviation academy and went on to graduate from American Flyers flight school.
