At 17, Nathalia Filgueiras could fly an airplane but couldn’t yet drive a car. She laughed about it. “Yeah but I can fly,” she told a local TV station in 2023.
Three years later, the 20-year-old co-pilot was on the radio with air traffic control as a Learjet 60 plunged toward a roadway in Greenacres, Florida. She reported the emergency and kept communicating until the final transmission. All nine people aboard died on Nov. 1, 2026. The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office has since identified every victim.
Since the Learjet 60 crash, the name "Nathalia Filgueiras" has been everywhere. Grief has mixed with argument. Strangers have debated her age as if it were a cause. The NTSB hasn’t said so. The investigation is ongoing, and the cause hasn’t been determined.
This article tells the story behind the headlines. You’ll meet the girl who learned to fly alongside her father, the young pilot who later became his instructor and the co-pilot whose family says she logged more than 1,300 flight hours. You’ll also read what the air traffic recordings and investigators have said so far, and what is still unknown.
She deserves a story built on facts. Here it is.
She Was Flying Before She Could Drive
Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras did not discover aviation as an adult. It had been part of her life since childhood.
Her father, Allan Filgueiras, was a pilot. He introduced her to flying when she was around 12. She would join him on flights and watch the world from above. She also enjoyed visiting Boca Raton Airport to watch aircraft take off and land.
Her mother, Camila Gadelha Corteleti, later recalled how much her daughter loved being in the air.
"She loved the freedom. It was completely different to see the world from above," she said in an interview with Brazilian news outlet R7.
By the time Nathalia was 17, she had already decided what she wanted to do with her life. She began studying aviation in 2020, while still in high school. Her father helped teach her, too.
In September 2023, she earned her private pilot certificate. She was a senior at West Boca Raton Community High School in Florida.
The achievement attracted local media attention. Nathalia could fly an aircraft, but she was still working toward getting her driver's license.
She found the contrast amusing.
"I definitely do brag because people say, 'oh you can't drive,' and I'm like, 'yeah but I can fly,'" she told CBS12 News in 2023.
She had logged 88 flight hours by October that year. Her training was supported by the School District of Palm Beach County through its Aviation Academy.
It was an unusual achievement for a teenager. But Nathalia was not treating flying as a hobby she might eventually outgrow. She was already working toward a career in aviation.
Her Father Was Her First Flying Teacher — Then She Became His Instructor
Flying was more than a career choice for Nathalia. It was something she shared with her father.
Allan Filgueiras told CNN that the two could talk about aviation for hours. It was their common language.
"She's my soulmate," he said. "Having her to talk about aviation. Now, I feel like my life is missing."
He began learning to fly when Nathalia was 12. He would take her along on flights with an instructor aboard. He later earned his own private pilot certificate in 2021.
But his daughter eventually became the more experienced aviator.
Nathalia held commercial pilot and flight instructor licenses. She was also qualified to fly more complex aircraft. Her father said she would put him through challenging training exercises, including simulated instrument failures and unusual aircraft positions.
He described how she would make him repeat an exercise when she thought he could do better.
"She became an extraordinary pilot," he told CNN.
The roles had changed. The father who first introduced his daughter to flying was now learning from her.
It is one of the most revealing details about their relationship. Nathalia was not simply following her father's footsteps. She had developed the skills to teach him.
She Had More Than 1,300 Flight Hours by the Time She Died
Nathalia was only 20 when she died. That fact has led to questions about her age and experience.
But her family says she had accumulated more than 1,300 flight hours. She had also obtained commercial pilot and flight instructor licenses.
She trained at American Flyers, an aviation school with locations in Florida and Texas. Her qualifications included the training and ratings needed to serve as a first officer on the Learjet 60.
This distinction matters. Nathalia was not the captain of the aircraft. She was the co-pilot, seated alongside 55-year-old captain Jeff Gregory.
Her father's attorney, Stuart Grossman, also defended her qualifications after online criticism followed the crash. The family wanted people to understand that her age did not tell the full story of her training.
According to reporting by The Washington Post, she had completed extensive training and held Learjet certification. She had more than 1,300 hours of flight experience.
Her mother said Nathalia had been working professionally as a pilot for about nine months.
She was still young. But she had spent years preparing for the career she loved.
She Had a Boyfriend Who Was Also a Pilot
Nathalia's love of aviation was also something she shared with her boyfriend, identified in news reports as Justin.
He was a pilot, too. The couple appeared together in cockpit photos and videos shared on Nathalia's social media accounts.
In one post, she highlighted how unusual their achievements were at such a young age. Both were under 21 and had earned several aviation qualifications, including commercial, multi-engine, instrument, and flight instructor ratings.
They were building their careers in the same field. It was a relationship with a shared interest that had shaped much of Nathalia's life.
There is no reliable public information establishing how long they had been together or revealing further details about their private relationship. But reports after the crash confirmed that they were still in contact shortly before the accident.
Her stepfather, Thiago Corteleti, told the New York Post that Nathalia had sent Justin a message at around 12:40 p.m. on November 1. The crash happened approximately 10 minutes later.
The message was brief.
"I've got turbulence, I've got ice," she reportedly told him.
It was one of the last messages she sent to someone close to her.
Her Mother Had Always Feared That Flying Would Take Her Daughter Away
For Camila Corteleti, watching her daughter pursue aviation was a mixture of pride and fear.
She knew how much Nathalia loved flying. She also knew the risks that came with the profession.
After the crash, she spoke about a fear she had carried for years. She had worried that the very thing her daughter loved would one day take her away.
"I wanted her to live her dream," she told the New York Post.
She also said:
"I know she was living her dream."
In another interview, Camila described Nathalia as responsible and hardworking. She said her daughter had been fascinated by aviation since childhood.
The family was Brazilian but lived in Florida, where Nathalia was born and raised.
Her mother had watched her grow from a little girl who loved watching aircraft to a young woman earning a living as a pilot. She was proud of what Nathalia had achieved. But she had also feared this day might come.
What Happened on Her Final Flight?
On November 1, 2026, Nathalia was serving as co-pilot aboard a Learjet 60 operated by Aurora Aviation, doing business as Upper Jet.
The aircraft had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas. Its destination was North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas.
There were nine people aboard: two pilots and seven passengers. The aircraft never reached its destination.
It crashed near Greenacres in Palm Beach County, Florida, killing everyone on board. The passengers included technology entrepreneur Adam Robinson, his wife Helen Sharp, their two young children, Emma and Charlie, their caregiver Anita Maria Cetina, and passengers Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr. Captain Jeff Gregory and Nathalia were also killed.
The National Transportation Safety Board launched an investigation. Its preliminary updates confirmed that the aircraft had been lost from radar and radio contact while travelling from Austin to the Bahamas.
The cause had not been determined.
The Crew Reported Turbulence and Ice Before the Emergency
The air traffic control recordings provide a troubling account of the aircraft's final minutes.
The crew reported turbulence and icing while flying toward Florida. Nathalia's voice can be heard communicating with air traffic control.
At one point, she described the aircraft being moved by turbulence and reported ice building up. She also asked whether there were better conditions ahead.
The controller told the crew that the ride should improve in the next airspace.
The situation then deteriorated rapidly.
The crew reported precipitation and requested a climb to a higher altitude. Shortly afterward, the aircraft began descending at an alarming rate.
Her Last Words
Nathalia reported the emergency to air traffic control. One of her transmissions included:
"We're descending 8,000 – mayday, mayday – we're descending 10,000 feet per minute."
The descent rate became even more severe. Another transmission reported an overspeed condition and a descent of 20,000 feet per minute.
The final words attributed to Nathalia in the air traffic control recording were: "We're out of time."
Those words have become one of the most haunting parts of the tragedy.
However, I would not call "We're out of time" her confirmed last words without qualification. It is the final transmission attributed to her in the published ATC recording.
What's more, it is important to distinguish the public air traffic control recording from a cockpit voice recorder. The recording captures communications between the aircraft and air traffic control. It is not, by itself, a complete recording of everything said inside the cockpit.
Her Father Listened to the Final Radio Calls Again and Again
For Allan Filgueiras, the recordings are difficult to hear. But he has listened to them repeatedly.
He was searching for answers. He was also listening to his daughter.
At a news conference on November 6, he struggled to hold back tears as he spoke about wishing he could have been beside her in the cockpit.
"I wanted to be by her side, inside the plane, to help her," he said.
He praised her composure during the emergency. He said she continued communicating and fighting until the final moments.
"She showed me what it is to be a hero," he said.
He also described the pain of knowing what was happening while being unable to reach her.
In an interview with CNN, he recalled spending time with Nathalia just four days before the crash. They had gone to a boat show and eaten lunch together.
He told her it was one of the best days of his life.
After they parted, he experienced an unusual feeling of sadness. He could not explain it at the time.
"I can't believe that was the last day that I spent with her," he said.
He has since said he intends to keep flying. He sees it as a way to remain connected to his daughter.
"I will continue her legacy," he told CNN. "Each time that I'm gonna be flying, I'm gonna be connecting with her. I want to make her proud."
Nathalia’s sister, Giulia Filgueiras' Tribute
Nathalia’s sister, Giulia Filgueiras, has spoken about her sister’s passion for flying, her courage, and the pain of losing her. Her most emotional tribute was shared on TikTok after the crash.
In a post accompanied by photographs of the two sisters, Giulia described Nathalia as her other half:
“My baby, my little sister, my other half, my eternal love… What am I going to do without you now sis."
“I’d do anything to be little and growing up together again. My heart is so torn I lost my whole entire world, may Papai de Ceu hold you so tight.”
She also wrote: “I would protect you till the ends of this earth and forever will defend your name. Your my guardian angel now and that doesn’t feel right to say because you should be here with us.”
And in another part of the tribute, she praised Nathalia for what she represented to women in aviation:
“You’re living proof that women can do it all that we can achieve anything in this world regardless of age regardless of gender you really showed everyone around you how resilient and strong we are as women.”
She ended with: “You didn’t stop fighting and being brave until your last breath I’m sorry sis I’ll see you in my dreams and feel you in my heart until the day I die I’m counting down days now until I’ll see you again #LLN my sweet baby sister.”
Her Friend Said the Final Audio Was the Worst Thing She Had Ever Heard
Nathalia's death also devastated people who had known her long before she became a professional pilot.
Mikaela Schluth, a longtime friend, had known her since middle school. She spoke to CBS News after hearing the air traffic control recording.
"It was definitely, probably the worst thing I've ever heard," she said.
But Schluth also praised the way Nathalia handled the emergency.
"I'm just so proud of how she handled it and how she was able to stay calm and give information, up until the last minute," she told CBS News.
Her comments reflected what many people noticed in the recording. Even as the situation became increasingly desperate, the co-pilot continued communicating with air traffic control.
Her father expressed a similar sense of pride. He said he was impressed by her determination and the way she kept fighting.
The audio is painful for her loved ones. It has also become an important part of the public record of the accident.
What Investigators Have Said About the Crash
The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation, with assistance from the Federal Aviation Administration.
In its November 5 update, the NTSB said investigators were continuing to recover wreckage from the crash site. A portion of one engine had been found. Debris had also been located away from the impact area and on nearby buildings.
The recovered parts were to be taken to a secure location for further examination.
The investigation is examining the aircraft and the circumstances surrounding its final flight. The crew's reports of turbulence, icing, and precipitation are important pieces of evidence. But they do not, by themselves, establish why the Learjet went down.
Also, the aircraft's reported descent rate is not to be confused with a confirmed explanation for the crash.
The NTSB has not concluded that Nathalia's age, experience, or actions caused the accident. Nor has it established that weather alone was responsible.
Those conclusions must wait for the investigation.
For now, the public record tells us that a 20-year-old co-pilot who had spent much of her life preparing to fly was on the radio as the aircraft entered an emergency. She reported the conditions, declared the emergency, and continued communicating until the final transmission.
Her family is left with questions that only the investigation may answer. And with memories of a young woman who, from the age of 12, knew what she wanted to do with her life.
Final Thoughts
Nathalia Filgueiras was 20 years old. After the Learjet 60 crash, some people online treated that number as an explanation. Let me answer them directly.
Age isn’t a qualification. Training is. According to her family and reporting by The Washington Post, Nathalia held commercial pilot and flight instructor licenses and had logged more than 1,300 flight hours. She trained at American Flyers and had the ratings needed to serve as a first officer on the Learjet 60. She’d been working professionally as a pilot for about nine months. Her father, a pilot himself, said she became the more experienced aviator, the one putting him through simulated instrument failures. Her family’s attorney, Stuart Grossman, has also defended her qualifications.
And she wasn’t the captain. Nathalia was the co-pilot, seated beside 55-year-old Captain Jeff Gregory. Aviation uses two-pilot crews for a reason. Responsibility is shared, and two sets of eyes see more than one. The NTSB hasn’t said who had the controls at any given moment. Pointing at the youngest voice in the cockpit isn’t analysis. It’s a reflex.
The investigation hasn’t spoken. The NTSB hasn’t concluded that her age, experience or actions caused the crash. It hasn’t concluded that weather alone did either. Investigators are still examining the wreckage and an engine. Until they finish, everything else is a guess.
What we do know is what the recordings show. A young pilot reported turbulence and ice, declared a mayday and kept talking. A friend who has heard the audio said she was proud of how Nathalia “was able to stay calm.” Her father said, “She showed me what it is to be a hero.”
Her mother carried a quiet fear for years: that the thing her daughter loved might one day take her away. “I know she was living her dream,” she said. Her father has promised to keep flying. “I will continue her legacy,” he told CNN.
So judge this the way aviation judges accidents: with evidence, not assumptions. Wait for the NTSB’s report. Remember all nine people who died on that flight, including the family of four, their friends, the nanny and the captain.
And if you’re a young pilot reading this, keep flying. The sky doesn’t ask how old you are. It asks whether you’re prepared. Nathalia had spent years preparing.
Sources
1. CNN report: "A father who taught his daughter to love flying is mourning after her Learjet crashed in Florida" — childhood, father-daughter relationship, her training, mother's comments, final radio transmission and the investigation.
2. The Washington Post: "Tearful father of young Florida crash co-pilot aims to protect her legacy" — father's November 6 news conference and comments about her final radio calls and qualifications.
3. CBS News: "Friend of co-pilot in Florida plane crash says audio of last moments "the worst thing I've ever heard"" — interview with Mikaela Schluth.
4. The Daily Beast: "Family Reveals 20-Year-Old Pilot’s Final Texts to Boyfriend" — the message about turbulence and ice, reported by her stepfather.
5. R7: "Brazilian co-pilot killed in US jet crash had family in Brazil" — mother's recollections, childhood interest in aviation, boyfriend and social-media details.
6. Associated Press via The Washington Post: Victims of Florida plane crash include a 20-year-old copilot and tech entrepreneur and his family — identification, flight route and passenger details.
7. NTSB official investigation page: "Crash of Learjet 60, ERA27MA026" — operator, route, crash date, recovery work and official investigation updates.
8. WPBF: "Father of 20-year-old copilot killed in Florida Learjet crash speaks out" — local reporting from the father's news conference.
9. Boca Post: "Former West Boca Raton High aviation student among nine killed" — useful local background on her high-school aviation training and 2023 interview.
