Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, a 20-year-old daughter of Brazilian immigrants, was the co-pilot of a private Learjet 60 that crashed in Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday, killing all nine people aboard. Her identity was confirmed to g1 by her cousin, Stéfany Corteletti.
The aircraft had departed from Austin, Texas, bound for the Bahamas. It crashed in a residential area of Greenacres, in Palm Beach County, and exploded on impact. The accident opened a crater in the pavement and scattered debris across the surrounding area, according to the available report.
Filgueiras had attracted attention in the United States in 2023 after obtaining her private pilot’s license at age 17, before she had learned to drive. At the time, she was a senior at West Boca Raton High School and spoke to CBS12 News about her aviation training.
She began studying aviation theory in 2020, before entering her second year of high school. Her interest was also encouraged by her father, who had started flying recreationally in 2018 and shared his aviation knowledge with her. Her training included classroom lessons, flight simulators, practical exercises and technical examinations.
The program was funded by the Palm Beach County school district through its aviation academy, which provided lessons and training to high school students. By the time of the 2023 interview, Filgueiras had logged 88 flight hours and could fly private aircraft alone or carry passengers, as long as she was not paid for the service.
She told CBS12 News that she enjoyed pursuing an interest different from those of many of her peers. “Some people think it’s strange that I can fly airplanes but don’t know how to drive a car,” she said, adding that she hoped to obtain her driver’s license.
Filgueiras said she hoped to become a commercial airline pilot or work in business aviation, flying private jets. She also shared aviation-related achievements and images from inside aircraft cabins on social media. In a post from March 2026, she celebrated becoming pilot in command of a Learjet 60.
An audio recording from the final moments of the flight includes a female voice reporting icing and turbulence. The crew member then declares an emergency and says the aircraft is losing altitude rapidly. The recording includes the words “Mayday, Mayday” and reports a descent rate of 10,000 feet per minute, later referring to a rate of 20,000 feet per minute.
The recording also includes warnings that the aircraft was about to hit the ground. It has not been confirmed whether the female voice belongs to Filgueiras.
The Learjet took off from Austin at 9:36 a.m. local time and crashed at 12:50 p.m. near Greenacres. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the accident with support from the Federal Aviation Administration.
The NTSB scheduled a news conference for Monday at 3 p.m. Brasília time to discuss the investigation process and planned activities at the crash site. Ice accumulation and turbulence have been identified by specialists as possible contributing factors, but investigators have not reached a conclusion about what caused the crash.
Sources: G1.