NFL star Joe Mixon revealed on Monday that he had previously flown on the private jet that crashed into the ground and burst into flames on Sunday, killing all nine people aboard in Palm Beach County, Florida.
In a post to X, the two-time Pro Bowl running back wrote that he’s “absolutely devastated” over the terrifying crash that saw a Bahamas-bound Learjet 60 aircraft that took off from Texas take a nose dive and erupt in a fiery explosion, sending debris flying in a South Florida neighborhood.
The stormy weather in the area is a “major focus” for investigators as they try to determine the cause of the crash, officials say.
Mixon — who last was on the roster for the Houston Texans in the 2025 season — revealed that he flew on the jet last month with the same two pilots who died in the crash, one of whom was 20-year-old co-pilot Nathalia Filgueiras, a Palm Beach County native who had long dreamed of being a pilot.
Jeff Gregory, 55, was the pilot of the aircraft, his former employer, East Coast Jets, said in a statement shared to its website.
“They were incredible professionals and genuinely wonderful people,” wrote Mixon before referring to Filgueiras. “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.💔”
He continued, “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 passengers aboard the jet included tech executive Adam Robinson, his wife Helen Sharp, their children Emma and Charlie, their nanny Anita Maria Cetina and another couple who were friends of the family, Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr, their families revealed in a statement on Monday.
Robinson and Sharp are remembered as “devoted parents” whose 4-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son were the “light of their lives,” read the statement, which emphasized Cetina’s “tenderness and devotion” in caring for the two children.
Reed and Fehr were “full of joy and adventure,” their families said, adding that the couple “loved their people fiercely, full and without hesitation.”