The heartbreaking voice heard crying for help in Sunday’s crash has been identified as that of Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, 20, who was the co-pilot of the Learjet 60 that crashed in Greenacres, Florida, on Sunday, killing nine people on board.
“Mayday, mayday. We’re descending 10,000 feet per minute. We’re going to crash into the ground. Look outside, Jack, look outside! Holy f***, we’re out of time!” Those were Gadelha’s last recorded words aboard the aircraft.
Gadelha, had gotten her her private poliot license while still in high school. At 17.
Her identity came about when Gadelha’s mother, Camila, and her stepfather confirmed in contact with the New York Post that she was the co-pilot aboard the Learjet 60.
After the now-deceased young genius pilot got her private pilot’s licence, it was a massive breakout, as she was featured in many interviews with the world’s biggest media television networks.
“I definitely do brag because people say, ‘Oh, you can’t drive,’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, but I can fly,’” she told CBS12 in an interview after receiving the licence.
The jet was on a flight from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas on Nov. 1 when it entered a steep nosedive, falling at more than 20,000 feet per minute, and crashed in Palm Beach County.
Her dreams were bright, as she said she wanted to become a commercial airline pilot and continued training beyond her private license.
In a recent social media post, Gadelha flying with her boyfriend, Justin, captioned:
“How often do you see 2 pilots under 21 with a commercial, multi-engine, instrument, CFI/CFI-I [Certified Flight Instructor/Certified Flight Instructor – Instrument]?”
Gadelha grew up in Palm Beach County and had come to public attention in October 2023 when she earned her private pilot’s license at 17. At that time, she was then a senior at West Boca Raton High School and had not yet obtained a driver’s license.
She had begun pilot lessons in 2020 and was also taught by her father, who learned to fly for recreation in 2018. She said she flew every day after ground school, building 88 hours of flight time before passing the knowledge test.
The 20-year-old pilot, now deceased, had her licence paid for by the School District of Palm Beach County’s Aviation Academy, which had launched its program in 2023.
She had graduated from American Flyers, a flying school based in Addison, Texas, with a branch in Pompano Beach, Florida.
This news was first reported by the New York Post in their exclusive report.
