Learjet Co-Pilot Killed In Florida Crash Got Flying License In High School

Washington: Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras was flying the small Learjet plane when it crashed and exploded in South Florida while on its way from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas earlier this week. In the air traffic control audio before the fiery crash, the 20-year-old co-pilot of the plane can be heard pleading for help as she shouts, "Mayday, mayday!" In the air traffic control radio call captured by LiveATC.net, moments before that crash, Filgueiras reported that ice was accumulating on the jet, with an outside air temperature of -47 degrees Celsius. She also reported moderate turbulence that bounced the plane up to 700 feet.Moments later, she shouted, "Mayday, mayday!" and said, "We're descending 10,000 feet per minute!""We are in an overspeed condition, descending 20,000 feet per minute...We're going to crash into the ground," she yelled. Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras (age 20) was the co-pilot of a private Learjet 60 that crashed yesterday, in a residential area of Palm Beach County, Florida, killing all nine people on board. She earned her private pilot degree at 17 Painful loss of a very promising and talented young https://t.co/hhzBbQdNXc— Chyydy (@Chyydylyfe) November 2, 2026Later, flight data on ADS-B Exchange showed that the Learjet 60 plummeted 27,000 feet in one minute before it crashed. About the 20-Year-Old Co-PilotFilgueiras earned her license in 2023 when she was a 17-year-old senior at West Boca Raton Community High School, according to local news reports at the time. The young aviator, whose family is Brazilian but lives in Florida, had previously featured in local media when she got her private pilot's licence even before she even had her driver's licence.According to her mother, Filgueiras had been working as a commercial pilot for nine months."She was a very good girl – responsible, hard-working...She was the co-pilot and couldn't make any decisions," Filgueiras' mother, Camila Gadelha Corteleti, told CNN Brasil. Filgueiras' pilot's license showed she had the rating to fly the jet but not to be in command of the flight.Filgueiras's stepfather, Thiago Corteleti, 44, told The New York Post that Filgueiras had 1,300 hours of flying experience. According to him, the 20-year-old texted her boyfriend, Justin, just 10 minutes before the plane crashed. "She just said, 'I've got turbulence, I've got ice,'" Corteleti said.She Learnt Flying As A TeenIn an earlier interview with CBS12, Filgueira, a senior at West Boca Raton High School at the time, explained that she began pilot lessons in 2020 and was also taught by her dad, who learned to fly for fun in 2018."I like being different than everyone, so to me I think it's cool that like it's not really an opportunity," Filgueiras said."I just didn't do it, and this is how it ended up. But I think it's cool. Some people think that it's weird that I can fly planes, but I can't drive a car, I mean I can but, a lot of people think it's funny. I think it's funny, and I now want my [driver's] licence really bad," she added.According to media reports, the Palm Beach County School District paid for her license as part of the high school's specialised aviation academy, in which students practice flying on simulators and drones.Other VictimsThe crash also killed Adam Robinson, his wife, Helen Sharp, and their children, 4-year-old Emma and 2-year-old Charlie, according to a statement from the families of the seven passengers. Anita Maria Cetina, who helped care for the children, also died.Two more victims were identified as Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr. The identity of the other pilot was not immediately disclosed."Our hearts are also with the families of the pilots, who are grieving alongside us," the families of the seven said.Robinson recently told the ProfitLed podcast that he and his family lived in Aspen, Colorado. He was a co-founder of Robly, an email marketing platform, and the founder of Retention.com, which uses technology to connect e-commerce website visitors to their email addresses."I feel like I'm living the dream," Robinson, 45, said."I love the fact that I get to see my kids in the morning and the evening, and I don't have to travel for work that much, and I get to live in this place that's always been my dream," he said. "And my wife is super happy because she can be a full-time artist."Robinson was known in Austin, Texas, where Retention.com was based. It's the second time this year that Austin has lost a tech entrepreneur in a plane crash, following the June death of Joshua Baer, who led a venture capital firm that supported tech startups."Adam was part of the entrepreneurial fabric of Austin," said Thom Singer, CEO of the Austin Technology Council, which promotes the local industry.