Teen pilot prodigy among nine killed in horrific Florida Learjet crash

A Learjet 60 crashed in Florida, US, on Sunday, killing all nine people aboard. Among them was 20-year-old co-pilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, who attracted attention after earning her private pilot’s license at age 17.

The incident occurred at 12.50pm local time. The Learjet 60 took off from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas, heading for North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas. It crashed in Palm Beach County. The nine people aboard included two crew members and seven passengers.

Flight-tracking website Flightradar24 said that the flight crew reported heavy rain, icing, and moderate turbulence during communications with air traffic control.

The aircraft experienced vertical oscillations of up to 700 feet, and the crew requested a climb to 37,000 feet. Shortly after receiving clearance to climb, the crew reported that the aircraft was overspeeding and descending rapidly.

The last altitude recorded by the website was 8,750 feet, with the descent rate briefly exceeding 32,000 feet per minute.

Released air traffic control recordings revealed the crew’s Mayday call, reporting that the jet was losing altitude at 20,000 feet per minute. The unidentified crew shouted, “We’re going to crash into the ground!” and “We are out of time” before the call ended.

Filgueiras’s family confirmed her death to the media. According to her family, she had logged more than 1,300 flying hours and had been working as a pilot for about nine months.

When attending Boca Raton Community High School in 2023, she earned her private pilot’s license through the school’s aviation academy, once remarking it was ironic she could pilot an aircraft before learning to drive a car.

The Associated Press noted that she was certified to fly this type of aircraft.

The National Transportation Safety Board sent an investigation team with assistance from the Federal Aviation Administration, noting that the information available at this stage was preliminary and could be revised as the investigation progressed.

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