The pilot who could be heard in distressing cockpit audio reciting the Lord's Prayer as the Learjet 60 he was flying nosedived in Florida was remembered on Monday as a devout Christian.
Jeffrey Gregory, 55, of Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania, was behind the controls of the business jet on Sunday afternoon when it crashed in a fiery ball near West Palm Beach, Florida, killing all nine people onboard.
He had been ferrying tech tycoon Adam Robinson, 45, Robinson's wife Helen Sharp, 40, and their toddlers, Emma, four, and Charlie, two, from Austin, Texas to the Bahamas for Robinson's birthday when the tragedy occurred, TMZ reports.
Robinson's friends Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr, and the children's nanny, Anita Maria Cetina, were also on the private flight.
As federal investigators now work to determine what may have caused the plane to tumble out of the sky at 20,000 feet per minute, the Limerick Chapel where Gregory grew up said he 'went home to be with the Lord.'
David Peters, an old friend of Gregory's and a former neighbor, also remembered the pilot as 'very diligent and dependable.'
He told the US Sun how Gregory, a father of three adult children, had wanted to be a pilot from a young age, as he recalled how he 'loved wearing his leather bomber jet.'
Federal Aviation Administration records show Gregory was issued an Airline Transportation Pilot certificate on October 1, 2021, with ratings for multiple jet types – including the Learjet 60.
He also held a First Class medical certificate dated June 2026.
Jeffrey Gregory, 55, of Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania, was piloting a Learjet 60 when it nosedived into a road near West Palm Beach, Florida on Sunday afternoon. He is pictured with his wife Cheryl. Source: JeffnCheryl Corbin-Gregory/Facebook
Adam Robinson, 45, and his wife Helen Sharp, 40, were onboard the Learjet 60 alongside their toddlers Emma, four, and Charlie, two, when it crashed
The pilot of a doomed Learjet aircraft that crashed into a fireball in Palm Beach, Florida may have flown directly into the eye of a thunderstorm before the tragedy, a meteorologist says
Gregory had previously worked for East Coast Aviation, an Allentown-based aviation company from 2016 through 2017, and was a flight instructor with several decades of experience, according to his LinkedIn page.
Following the news of his untimely passing, friends shared their condolences on Gregory and his wife Cheryl's joint Facebook page.
'Our hearts are breaking for you Cheryl,' one friend wrote. 'Praying that you will know the hope and comfort that only our Savior can give.'
Another friend said she pictured 'Jeff bowing his head and closing his eyes, preparing his heart to see Jesus while praying The Lord's Prayer.
'And as his co-pilot was yelling at him to look out the window, I am sure he was praying for you, Cheryl, and your beautiful family.'
It remains unclear what may have caused the Learjet to plummet into the ground in the town of Greenacres, Florida, where it left a massive crater and destroyed nearby infrastructure.
But when the business jet was heading east over Florida at 35,000 feet, the flight's co-pilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras could be heard warning air traffic control that the aircraft was coming down.
'Descending 20,000ft per minute... we're going to crash into the ground,' the co-pilot said, as Gregory could be heard reciting the Lord's Prayer in the background.
Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, 20, was co-piloting the Learjet 60 and could be heard in distressing audio warning air traffic control that the aircraft was coming down
The Learjet 60 nose-dived into an intersection in disturbing dash cam footage before bursting into flames
Audio from the cockpit captured the young co-pilot attempting to describe the crisis in the Learjet 60 aircraft to air traffic control in the moments before it went down.
She could be heard saying the aircraft had banked 60 degrees, meaning it was flying sideways, and she was noting the altitude changes.
Jet in doomed Palm Beach plane crash was involved in ANOTHER incident with female pilot weeks before
The Daily Mail has chosen not to publish the final seconds of audio, which are extremely distressing.
Filgueiras had also been messaging her fellow pilot boyfriend about facing heavy weather in the minutes before the plane crashed.
Her family told the New York Post that before the crash, Filgueiras texted her boyfriend Justin: 'I've got turbulence, I've got ice.'
Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) now say they believe severe weather played a 'significant factor' in the disaster and that part of the jet appeared to have broken off before the crash – which occurred just eight miles from President Trump's Mar-a-Lago country club.
The president and Air Force One took off from Palm Beach International Airport just an hour before the crash landing as Trump tried to rally support for Republicans ahead of Tuesday's midterm elections.
Robinson's friends, Rachel Reed and Charmi Fehr (pictured) were also killed in the crash
The family's nanny, Anita Maria Apellido Cetina (pictured), was on board. The victims' families said she will have a 'legacy of unconditional love and devotion'
Some aviation experts now believe the plane may have fallen foul of 'coffin corner' while trying to climb above two storm systems, known as cells.
Coffin corner is a phenomenon whereby the jet's minimum safe speed and maximum safe speed converge into a very narrow range at high altitude, making it extremely difficult to fly safely.
If the plane goes too slow or fast it will stall and quickly become uncontrollable.
As the NTSB now continues to investigate what caused the plane to fall out of the sky, the victims' families remembered Adam and Helen as 'devoted parents' and that their children 'were the light of their lives.'
'Helen and Adam were the love affair that will last forever,' the families said in a joint statement. 'Their warmth, generosity and gift for making people feel welcome touched so many lives. Their loss will be felt deeply by all those who loved them and who they loved in return.'
The impact left a massive crater in the middle of the road, damaging nearby infrastructure
The statement continued: 'Charmi and Rachel were full of joy and adventure. They loved their people fiercely, fully and without hesitation. From the moment they met, they were all in on each other and the life they were building. They are deeply loved, and we will miss them endlessly.
'Anita Maria cared for Emma and Charlie with tenderness and devotion, and she was truly part of the family. She showed us a legacy of unconditional love and devotion.'
'On behalf of friends and family, it is with a heavy heart that we share that our dearest Helen was taken from us too soon,' read a statement from her family.
'To know Helen was to love her. The number of people grieving Helen and Adam is a testament to how many people were lucky enough to have them in their lives.'