A private Learjet 60 carrying nine people nosedived at a rate of 6,000 meters a minute into a Florida mobile home park, leaving behind a deep crater and a fiery inferno. Among the dead in the Sunday tragedy was 20-year-old co-pilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, a young aviator who earned her license while still in high school, news.com.au reported.
The Fatal Plunge and Final Moments Over Palm Beach
The aircraft fell at an estimated speed of 595 km/h into Greenacres, a suburb of Palm Beach located north of Miami. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) official Tom Chapman stated on Monday that preliminary indications point to the aircraft breaking apart midair before the impact. If a critical component like the tail detached, controlling the aircraft would have been nearly impossible.
Nathalia Gadelha Figueiras, 20, has been identified as the co-pilot of the Learjet that crashed Sunday in Palm Beach County, Florida, killing all 9 people aboard.She earned her pilot’s license at 17 and dreamed of becoming a commercial airline pilot. pic.twitter.com/PaMX7l4FIt
Air traffic control audio recordings reveal the flight encountered severe weather as it traveled from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas. At 35,000 feet, the pilots reported light, clear ice accumulating on the wings alongside moderate turbulence. The situation quickly deteriorated as the crew requested an altitude increase of 2,000 feet, only for the jet to head in the opposite direction.
As the aircraft rapidly lost elevation, Ms. Filgueiras repeatedly declared a mayday emergency over the radio. “We’re descending 8,000 feet, mayday, mayday, 10,000 feet per minute,” she screamed into the air traffic controller’s channel, adding that they were banking 60 degrees and running out of time. Dashcam video from motorists traveling along South Military Trail captured the jet slicing through the overcast sky shortly before the fatal collision.
A Promising Aviation Career Cut Short
Ms. Filgueiras had accumulated 1,300 hours of flying experience and worked as a commercial pilot for nine months. Her mother, Camila Filgueiras, and stepfather confirmed her identity to the New York Post. The young pilot began taking lessons in 2020 with her father and later graduated through the School District of Palm Beach County’s Aviation Academy, obtaining her private pilot’s license at age 17 in October 2023.
“I wanted her to live her dream, but I knew that her dream was going to be the thing that would take her away from me,” Camila Filgueiras told the Post.
Federal investigators have not yet located the aircraft’s black box, though recovery efforts continue. The NTSB investigation will focus heavily on weather conditions, turbulence, and ice accumulation on the wings, alongside the structural integrity of the aircraft as it traversed the Florida storm.
Passengers Identified in the Greenacres Crash
Sources close to the family told TMZ that the passengers aboard the private jet included Texas tech multi-millionaire 44-year-old tech entrepreneur Adam Robinson, his wife Helen, and their two young children. The flight was also carrying the family’s nanny and two close friends who were accompanying them to the Bahamas.
The crash site remained active on Monday as emergency crews investigated the debris scattered across the roadway and the wreckage surrounding the destroyed mobile home. Investigators continue to analyze the air traffic control recordings and radar data to piece together the final minutes of the flight.
