Former NFL star Joe Mixon pays tribute to pilots in Learjet crash after flying on exact plane with them last month
Former NFL star Joe Mixon has revealed he previously flew on the same Bahamas-bound plane that crashed in Florida on Sunday (November 1).
The 30-year-old took to social media to say that he was ‘absolutely devastated by yesterday's tragic plane crash in Florida’.
“I flew on that exact aircraft last month with those same two pilots,” the ex-NFL player added after the co-pilot was identified as 20-year-old Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras.
Mixon continued: "“They were incredible professionals and genuinely wonderful people.
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“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.”
The former soccer player went on to say his ‘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,” he continued.
As well as the two co-pilots, seven passengers on board the flight died, who were named in a joint statement as tech entrepreneur Adam Robinson, his wife Helen Sharp, and their two children, Emma, four, and Charlie, two.
Rachael Reed, Charmi Fehr and Anita Maria Cetina were also on the private flight and died on Sunday.
A joint statement from Adam and Helen's family stated: "Adam and Helen were devoted parents, and Emma, 4, and Charlie, 2, were the light of their lives. Helen and Adam were the love affair that will last forever.
"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."
Meanwhile, Reed and Fehr were described in the joint family statement as ‘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," it said.
The LearJet aircraft is believed to have plunged 35,000 feet in just over a minute before crashing down into the South Florida neighborhood of GreenAcres.
According to LiveATC.net, The pilot's last words to controllers were: "We're going to crash into the ground."
Moments earlier, the pilot had radioed: “We're descending 8,000 - mayday, mayday - we're descending 10,000 feet per minute.”
An investigation into the crash remains ongoing.
Callum Jones
