20-Year-Old Co-Pilot Identified in Florida Jet Crash
A 20-year-old woman has been confirmed as co-pilot in a fatal Florida jet crash. Details about the crash and her background are emerging.
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A 20-year-old woman has been confirmed as the co-pilot aboard the Learjet 60 that crashed in Florida on Sunday, according to her family. Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, who earned her private pilot’s license at just 17 years old, was the co-pilot of the jet traveling from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas. Her mother and stepfather confirmed the identification to the New York Post on Monday.
Young Pilot’s Journey
Filgueiras, a senior at West Boca Raton High School at the time of her pilot’s license, was featured in local media for earning her license before obtaining her driver’s license. She joked that while she couldn’t drive, she could fly. Filgueiras began taking flying lessons in 2020 and had logged 88 flight hours by the time she received her license. The School District of Palm Beach County’s Aviation Academy funded her training, and she later graduated from American Flyers flight school with aspirations to become a commercial airline pilot.
Crash Audio and Speculation
Speculation grew online Sunday evening that Filgueiras was the co-pilot heard in devastating audio communicating to air traffic control that the jet was going to crash into the ground. In her TikTok videos, Filgueiras frequently posted her flying trips. One video appears to show the young woman in the cockpit of the jet that crashed on Sunday.
An audio recording of the communication between Air Traffic Control and the private jet that crashed in Florida has been released. https://t.co/aFB3L5sLVT
In the audio, reported by The Daily Wire, the co-pilot is heard screaming while speaking to air traffic control, and her last chilling message was “Holy f*ck, we’re out of time!”
Weather and Crash Analysis
Experts believe severe weather could have played a role in the jet’s rapid descent and crash. One aviation expert told South Florida outlet WPEC that a line of severe thunderstorms in South Florida on Sunday could have damaged the Learjet if the pilot flew into the rough air. “If the pilot flew into the tops of one of the thunderstorms, in that very rough air, he could have damaged the airplane to the point where he lost control,” said DeWitt Ingram, a Learjet type-rated captain.
Source: Daily Wire
