Co-pilot killed in Florida Learjet crash identified
Nathalia Filgueiras, 20, was flying from Austin to the Bahamas when the jet broke up over Greenacres, killing all nine aboard.
By Layla Fontaine ·
Nathalia G. Filgueiras, 20, died Sunday when the private Learjet she co-piloted crashed into a Greenacres neighborhood. Her father, Allan Filgueiras, confirmed her identity to NBC Miami. The crash killed all nine people on board and left a fiery crater near a roadway about seven miles southwest of West Palm Beach.
Filgueiras learned to fly from her father, who is also a pilot. Her sister, Giulia, said the family is from Brazil and that flying was her sister's greatest passion. Filgueiras earned her pilot's license in 2023 at age 17 while a senior at West Boca Raton Community High School. Her license rating allowed her to fly the jet but did not permit her to command the flight.
Air traffic control recordings show the pilot reported problems while the plane traveled east at 35,000 feet in rain. The pilot noted light, clear ice was manageable and moderate turbulence was present. The situation deteriorated quickly as the pilot requested permission to climb 2,000 feet before declaring an emergency. The jet began losing altitude rapidly.
“We’re descending 8,000, mayday, mayday, we’re descending 10,000 feet per minute,” the pilot radioed. Moments later, the pilot reported an overspeed condition with a descent rate of 20,000 feet per minute. The pilot concluded with the words, “We’re going to crash into the ground.” Video from passersby shows the aircraft banking sharply to the right before impact.
Anthony Blackmon, a resident near the crash site, described the scene to NBC Miami. “Debris was everywhere. Debris hit my house. Everything was on fire. The road was on fire,” Blackmon said. He added that he had always seen such events on the news but never thought they would happen so close to someone like him. Thick black smoke engulfed the site, and flames flickered around chunks of pavement lining the crater.
National Transportation Safety Board member Tom Chapman said evidence indicates the aircraft was breaking up before impact. Chapman noted that parts of the plane may be found some distance away from the actual impact site. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called the event a cataclysmic plane crash. “It looked like a missile going down and left a big crater on the side of the road,” DeSantis told reporters at the scene.
The plane was traveling from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas when it crashed. The crash site is in Greenacres, a community near West Palm Beach. The Learjet exploded upon striking the ground, creating a large crater. Nine people were killed in the incident.
