Lenny Kravitz's team responds to rumours singer died in fatal Florida plane crash
Representatives of Lenny Kravitz have issued a statement debunking rumours that the musician was on a Learjet which crashed in Florida.
Nine people, including two crew and seven passengers, were on the plane, with officials confirming that everyone on board the plane was killed in the crash near West Palm Beach on November 1.
Shortly after a the tragedy a screenshot began to circulate on social media which claimed that the pilot flying the plane had posted that she was flying Lenny Kravitz on this route.
Pilot Emily Shelton wrote in the post: “Honored to be flying the one and only Lenny Kravitz from AUS [in Austin] to ELH [in the Bahamas] tomorrow.
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“Looking forward to having him on board! ‘It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over’ is going to be playing in the cockpit.”
Shelton is not the pilot who was flying the plane involved in the crash, who has been named in the New York Post as Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, while another pilot has not yet been publicly identified.
Now, a representative of Kravitz has said that the rumours he was on the flight are 'untrue and incorrect'.
The passengers who had been travelling on the flight have not been identified publicly at the time of writing.
Shelton has also made a subsequent post on social media after the crash in an effort to debunk the false claims, saying that she was not the pilot on the flight involved in the crash.
"I was recently made aware that there are rumours that I was the pilot of the recent crash in Palm Beach," she said in a post shared to TikTok.
"I would like to respectfully clarify I was not. I ask that people please stop speculating and spreading misinformation on this tragedy and be respectful of those involved.
"My heart goes out to all those lost and affected.”
In a press conference on 2 November NTSB Member Tom Chapman gave additional information about the tragedy, including shared by the aircraft with air traffic control, including reports of 'ice and turbulence' which was 'certainly a factor'.
Chapman explained that the crew had described the ice as light, while the turbulence was manageable.
"The crew transmitted that they were at 35,000 feet with moderate turbulence with altitude deviations of about 700 feet," said Chapman.
The crew reported the outside temperature was -47 Celsius, which is -53 Fahrenheit, and they were managing the ice but were in moderate turbulence.
"Very soon after the crew transmitted 'we are picking up precipitation requesting to climb to 37,000 feet if able', which was approved by FAA air traffic control.
"Less than 30 seconds later a transmission from the aeroplane announced the descent followed by a Mayday call about 12:48 Eastern, the aeroplane transmitted 'we are in an overspeed condition descending' with the rest unintelligible.
"Subsequent communications described that the aeroplane was descending rapidly and gave an altitude callout. Sadly all aboard were lost."
He added: "Our investigators will work to thoroughly document relevant evidence and gather additional factual information," he told the press conference.
"Our mission is to understand not just what happened but what happened and to recommend changes to prevent it from happening again.
"We will not be determining the probable cause of the crash while we’re here on scene nor will we speculate about the cause."
Kit Roberts