Former NFL running back Joe Mixon has revealed that he flew on the same private jet and with the same pilots just weeks before it crashed in Palm Beach County, Florida, killing nine people.
Mixon said he was “absolutely devastated” by Sunday’s crash, which involved a Learjet 60 travelling from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas.
The two pilots were among those killed. Paying tribute to them, Mixon wrote: “They were incredible professionals and genuinely wonderful people.”
He also remembered 20-year-old co-pilot Nathalia Gadelha, saying that learning about her life and promising future made the tragedy even more heartbreaking.
All seven passengers and both pilots died in the crash. Among the victims were a Texas couple and their two young children, who were travelling with their nanny and two friends to the Caribbean to celebrate a birthday.
Investigators are examining the cause of the crash. Reports have indicated that there was icing and turbulence before the aircraft went down.
Mixon ended his message by urging people to value those close to them. “Love on your loved ones while you can, because you never know what tomorrow may bring,” he wrote.
