Nine Killed in Florida Jet Crash Near Palm Beach as Claims of Missing Iranian Pilot Verified

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida — November 3, 2026 — Federal investigators are examining the final moments of a Learjet 60 that crashed in Palm Beach County on November 1, killing all nine people aboard. The aircraft plunged into a residential area after its crew reported icing, turbulence and a rapid descent, raising questions about what caused the flight to end in disaster.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said preliminary evidence suggested parts of the aircraft may have separated before impact. Investigators are examining weather conditions, flight communications and wreckage recovered from the crash site.

The Learjet departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas at approximately 10:37 a.m. Eastern time, carrying seven passengers and two crew members.

Its destination was North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas.

At approximately 12:47 p.m., the crew reported light ice accumulating on the aircraft while flying at 35,000 feet.

The pilots also described moderate turbulence and requested permission to climb to 37,000 feet.

Air traffic controllers approved the request.

Shortly afterward, the aircraft began descending rapidly.

The crew declared an emergency as the jet experienced an increasingly severe loss of altitude.

Around 12:50 p.m., the aircraft crashed near Military Trail in Palm Beach County, erupting into flames.

All nine occupants died.

The claim that an Iranian pilot escaped before the crash is supported by available evidence.

The aircraft's captain was identified as 55-year-old Jeffrey Gregory.

His co-pilot was 20-year-old Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, whose father confirmed her death.

Filgueiras had earned her pilot's license at 17 and had accumulated substantial flight experience despite her young age.

Both pilots were among the nine people killed.

The documented crew identities directly contradict the suggestion that a surviving pilot disappeared after the disaster.

NTSB board member Tom Chapman said investigators had found indications that the Learjet began breaking apart before striking the ground.

Some aircraft components may have separated from the main wreckage during the descent.

The crash created a large crater in the roadway and scattered debris near a residential community.

Emergency crews evacuated residents while investigators secured the area.

Weather conditions remain a major focus of the investigation.

The NTSB is also examining the aircraft's systems, maintenance history and available flight recordings.

A final determination of the cause has not been released.

The crash occurred in Palm Beach County, approximately 7 miles southwest of West Palm Beach.

President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate is also located in Palm Beach County.

However, the aircraft was not traveling toward Mar-a-Lago as its intended destination.

Flight records identify the Bahamas as its destination.

No publicly verified evidence connects the crash to Iran, an attempted attack on the president or an organized terrorist operation.

The presence of a major political property in the same county does not establish a security connection.

Investigators have instead concentrated on aviation-related evidence, including the aircraft's rapid descent, reported weather conditions and possible structural breakup.

There has been no official finding that the passengers were murdered.

Federal investigators are continuing to recover wreckage and reconstruct the aircraft's final flight path.

The investigation will seek to determine whether icing, mechanical problems, structural failure or other factors contributed to the disaster.

The deaths of nine people are confirmed, but the cause remains under investigation.

For now, the evidence does not support allegations of a missing Iranian pilot, deliberate murder or a terrorist plot near Mar-a-Lago.