'Absolutely devastated.' Joe Mixon flew with pilots last month on Learjet in crash

A Cincinnati Enquirer report confirms that former Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon disclosed flying as a passenger with two pilots aboard a Learjet about a month before a recent crash incident. The disclosure came on November 2 as Mixon spoke in relation to an aviation event involving the Learjet, though the article does not provide further details about the flight crew composition, aircraft configuration, or the exact timeline beyond “about a month prior.” No causes, outcomes, or additional context about the crash are supplied in the Enquirer piece.

Yahoo’s coverage reiterates that the National Transportation Safety Board is continuing its investigation into a Learjet 60 crash off the Florida coast that resulted in nine fatalities. Investigators are focusing on the final moments of flight and factors contributing to the loss of life, with the inquiry centered on reconstructing the sequence of events using evidence recovered at the scene, along with flight data and maintenance records. The Yahoo summary stresses that no conclusions are stated in the material and that updates are expected as the investigation progresses.

Multiple outlets report a dispersed debris field from the Learjet 60, with tail components recovered as far as roughly 3.8 miles from the main wreckage in Palm Beach County, Florida. The tail debris includes left-elevator fragments described as in multiple pieces, and this detail is used by CBS News—cited by Military Aerospace and AVweb—in reconstructing the final moments of flight and considering whether tail separation occurred prior to impact. The reports do not specify additional findings beyond the dispersed debris and the possibility of tail separation contributing to the crash.

Flight details described across outlets indicate the Learjet 60 was en route from Austin, Texas toward the Bahamas when icing and moderate turbulence were encountered, followed by an emergency mayday declaration. CBS News, echoed by AVweb and Global News in their coverage, notes that investigators said the elevator separated from the tail and that the crew reported ice buildup and turbulence before the mayday call, with the aircraft erupting into a fireball on impact. The material attributes the nine fatalities to the crash but does not provide a full roster of victims within this summary.

Emergency response and site conditions are described as challenging for recovery efforts. AVweb and CBS describe a water-filled crater at the crash site and adverse weather hampering the retrieval of wreckage. Recovery teams are noted as working to obtain additional pieces of the aircraft from the site, though the provided material does not enumerate specific operational steps or the current status of all responders.

Yahoo News Singapore adds a human element to the aftermath, quoting a two-time Pro Bowl NFL running back describing the event as a “tragic reminder of how fragile life is,” focusing on the emotional impact rather than technical flight details. This comment appears in the context of ongoing breaking-news coverage of the incident and does not introduce new factual details about the crash itself.

The New York Post contributes a separate line of reporting by identifying a Learjet co-pilot connected to the Palm Beach County crash: Nathalia Filgueiras, a 20-year-old who earned her pilot license while still in high school and served as co-pilot on the Learjet involved. The Post describes dashcam footage showing the aircraft diving toward the ground and exploding into a fireball as it descended. The outlet notes the aircraft’s steep descent and a rate of descent roughly described as 20,000 feet per minute, with investigators not yet releasing details about origin, destination, or precise sequence leading to the descent, and no further official information on causes or outcomes in the material provided.

All outlets collectively acknowledge Mixon’s disclosure about flying with two pilots aboard a Learjet prior to the crash, but the coverage does not establish exact dates, locations, or configurations of the earlier flight, nor do they provide conclusive information on the crash’s origin, destination, or definitive causes. The reporting emphasizes the ongoing investigation by the NTSB and the emotional and public-facing reactions to the incident rather than presenting new verifiable facts about flight parameters or the immediate crash sequence beyond what is described in relation to tail separation, icing, turbulence, and a resulting fireball.