Key Takeaways
- Lenny Kravitz’s team denied viral claims that he died in a Palm Beach County Learjet crash, calling the reports “untrue and incorrect.”
- A fabricated post linked Kravitz and pilot Emily Shelton to the flight, but neither was aboard, and Shelton urged users to stop spreading misinformation.
- The Bahamas-bound jet crashed November 1, killing all nine people aboard; the NTSB has opened an investigation with FAA assistance.
Lenny Kravitz’s team has shut down a viral claim that the rock star was among nine people killed when a private jet plunged into a Palm Beach County neighborhood on Sunday, November 1.
As graphic footage of the Learjet 60 exploding near a busy roadway circulated online, a fabricated social media post falsely connected Kravitz to the doomed flight. “The reports are untrue and incorrect,” his publicist told BocaNewsNow.
The jet departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and was headed to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas when it crashed near Cresthaven Blvd. and Military Trail at approximately 12:50 p.m. The aircraft narrowly missed cars and homes before striking the ground near a mobile home park, downing power lines and leaving what Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel Flores described as a “massive crater.”
All nine people aboard were killed, while officials reported no immediate injuries on the ground.
The circulating post claimed Shelton was preparing to fly the “Fly Away” singer from Austin to the Bahamas and planned to play “It Ain’t Over ’Til It’s Over” in the cockpit. Neither Kravitz nor Shelton was aboard the doomed Learjet.
“I was recently made aware that there are rumors that I was the pilot of the recent crash in Palm Beach,” Shelton wrote on TikTok, in a video that has since been made private. “I would like to respectfully clarify I was not.”
She urged users to stop circulating misinformation and show respect for those affected.
However, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the family of 20-year-old Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, who earned her pilot’s license while still in high school, confirmed that she was aboard the aircraft.
Air traffic control recordings captured the crew as they confronted a catastrophic descent. After reporting moderate turbulence and saying they were “managing the ice,” someone aboard issued a Mayday call and said the Learjet was dropping at 10,000 feet per minute.
The descent rapidly worsened, with the speaker warning, “We’re going to crash into the ground,” before the final recorded words: “We’re out of time.”
The National Transportation Safety Board has opened an investigation, with assistance from the Federal Aviation Administration.
