The skies over Nampa, Idaho, turned from peaceful to catastrophic in just one minute on July 27, 2025. A small Mooney M20 plane, carrying pilot Brandon LeRoy, his wife Jestene, and their 23-month-old son Paxton, nosedived into an unoccupied home shortly after takeoff. The impact was instant and devastating—Brandon and Jestene died at the scene, while Paxton, rushed to the hospital, succumbed to his injuries soon after. The crash left a community in mourning and raised urgent questions about small aircraft safety in residential areas.
What makes this tragedy even more heartbreaking is the eerie foreshadowing in Jestene’s final TikTok post. Just three days before the crash, she shared a video of little Paxton riding his tricycle around the same blue-and-white plane that would later become their coffin. The caption read: “Imagine growing up riding your bike around your dad’s plane before your dad flies you and your mom wherever you want.” The video, now viewed over 13 million times, is a haunting glimpse of a family full of life, unaware of the horror awaiting them.
@jesteneleroy Thank you to my husband for working so hard for us 🥰 #husband #toddlersoftiktok #wifelife ♬ original sound – mark.payton.tiktok
A Flight That Ended Too Soon
The LeRoys’ plane took off from Nampa Airport around 5:40 p.m. on that fateful Sunday. Flight data shows they barely made it two miles before disaster struck. Witnesses described the aircraft circling unsteadily before plunging into a residential neighborhood, hitting an unoccupied outbuilding on Venice Street. The explosion sent flames and smoke high enough to be seen miles away, though miraculously, no one on the ground was hurt.
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Brandon, a 43-year-old nurse anesthetist and experienced pilot, had logged hours in the air. The Mooney M20, registered to his company Sleepytime PLLC, had no known mechanical issues and was certified just last year. Investigators are now combing through maintenance logs, flight data, and witness statements to determine what went wrong. Was it engine failure? A sudden medical emergency? Pilot error? The NTSB’s preliminary report, expected by late August, may provide answers, but for now, the cause remains a mystery.
REST IN PEACE 🙏 Brandon and Jestene LeRoy and their toddler, Paxton, were killed in a small plane crash Sunday evening in Idaho.
The FAA said the plane was only in the air for two miles before crashing into someone’s yard: https://t.co/7yii5NjW9I pic.twitter.com/W59V6DFc9z
— 10 Tampa Bay (@10TampaBay) July 29, 2025
The LeRoys weren’t just passengers; they were adventurers. In the week before the crash, the plane had hopped between McMinnville, Oregon; Fresno, California; and Nampa, suggesting a family that loved to travel. Friends and relatives described Brandon as a skilled aviator, Jestene as a vibrant social media presence, and Paxton as a bubbly toddler who brought joy to everyone around him. Their sudden absence has left an unfillable void.
A Community and Family Left Shattered
The aftermath of the crash rippled far beyond the wreckage. Nampa, a tight-knit city of 100,000, reeled from the proximity of the disaster. Residents near the crash site described the sound of impact as “like a movie,” with flames erupting in an otherwise quiet neighborhood. Mayor Debbie Kling voiced the collective grief, calling the loss “a weight on the entire community.”
For the LeRoy family, the pain is immeasurable. Brandon’s cousin Jeremiah poured his heart into a public statement, remembering Brandon as a man of “love, courage, and selfless service”—a former firefighter, paramedic, and nurse who was always the calm in a crisis. He shared touching anecdotes, like the time Brandon dragged him to a sketchy parking lot late at night just to buy an espresso machine as a gift. Jestene, he said, seamlessly became part of the family, and Paxton was their “joyful little boy, full of light.” Their faith offers some solace, but the raw grief is unmistakable: “To say we miss them doesn’t come close.”
Meanwhile, the crash has reignited debates over small-plane safety. Nampa Airport, like many regional airstrips, lacks a control tower, relying on pilots to navigate via radio and visual rules. Some locals are now pushing for stricter low-altitude flight restrictions over neighborhoods, while aviation experts caution against panic, noting that such crashes, while tragic, are often isolated incidents.
As investigators piece together the final moments of Flight NXXXXX, one thing is certain: the LeRoys’ legacy isn’t defined by how they died, but by how they lived—full of love, adventure, and unwavering faith. Their story is a reminder to cherish every moment, because life, like that ill-fated flight, can change in an instant.
