Lenny Kravitz denies he was on crashed Florida Learjet

Summarised from 3 outlets · 4 reports · Updated 3 Nov, 03:45 · Archive

Lenny Kravitz's representatives have denied he was aboard a Learjet that crashed in Florida on Sunday, killing all nine people on board.

A Learjet carrying nine passengers crashed near Greenacres in Palm Beach County, Florida, on Sunday. The aircraft was flying from Texas to the Bahamas when it declared a rapidly worsening emergency following icing, turbulence and a sharp loss of altitude. It crashed into a residential area and caught fire, killing all on board.

Rumours that musician Lenny Kravitz was aboard the jet spread rapidly on social media after a female pilot named Emily Shelton posted on Facebook about flying Kravitz on a similar route. In the now-deleted post, Shelton wrote she was 'honored' to be flying Kravitz from Austin to the Bahamas, and joked that his song 'It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over' would play in the cockpit. Shelton, 21, had previously gone viral in August for making an emergency landing on Interstate 10.

Fans who saw Shelton's post on X (formerly Twitter) mistakenly assumed she was the pilot of the crashed jet and that Kravitz had died in the accident. A tweet making this claim was viewed nearly three million times by Monday morning.

Kravitz's representative, Carleen Donovan, told media outlets that the reports were 'untrue and incorrect'. Shelton also addressed the rumours directly on TikTok, writing that she was not the pilot of the crashed jet and asking people to stop spreading misinformation. 'My heart goes out to all those lost and affected,' she wrote.

On Monday, the Post identified the actual pilot as 20-year-old Nathalia Gadelha, who had obtained her pilot licence while still in high school. Authorities have not yet publicly identified all nine people who died in the crash.

How it is being reported

• How a pilot's innocent post about flying Lenny Kravitz sparked terrifying death rumors after nine people perished in Florida jet fireballA Florida pilot's innocent post about flying Lenny Kravitz inadvertently sparked terrifying rumors the singer had been killed in a plane crash over the weekend.Daily Mail · 2 Nov, 18:17
• Lenny Kravitz forced to deny claims he died in Miami plane crashA Learjet 6 crashed and killed all nine passengers.Metro · 2 Nov, 15:12
• Lenny Kravitz addresses grim rumors he was on doomed Learjet involved in Florida plane crashThe doomed Bahamas-bound Learjet was carrying nine passengers.New York Post · 2 Nov, 14:17
• Lenny Kravitz trashes sick rumors he was on doomed LearjetLenny Kravitz’s team and a private pilot he uses have denied they were on board the ill-fated Learjet plane which crashed "like a missile" and burst into a fireball.New York Post · 2 Nov, 13:01

In this story: Lenny Kravitz · Emily Shelton · Nathalia Gadelha · Florida · Bahamas · Palm Beach County

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log