WEST PALM BEACH, FL — A father who taught his daughter to love flying is grieving after she died in a Learjet 60 crash in South Florida that killed everyone aboard. Nathalia Filgueiras, 20, was the copilot on the flight, and her final moments were captured in chilling air traffic audio as the jet dropped toward a roadway.
Allan Filgueiras said his daughter shared his passion for aviation from the time she was a child, and that the two had spent years talking about flying. He said he wants her remembered for her talent, her discipline and the dream she worked so hard to achieve.
The National Transportation Safety Board is now examining the weather, the aircraft and the scattered wreckage to determine what caused the crash.
A father and daughter bonded through aviation from childhood
Allan Filgueiras said Nathalia first began flying with him when she was 12, riding along while he was at the controls and learning to love the sky as he did. By 17, she had earned her own pilot’s license, turning a family hobby into a professional path.
He said the relationship between them was built around aviation, with father and daughter sharing flights, training sessions and long conversations about aircraft. At one point, he said, she shifted from student to teacher, guiding him through drills and helping him stay sharp and safe.
Filgueiras told CNN that his daughter once told him there was nothing else she wanted to do in life besides fly. He said he encouraged her to chase that goal, and later watched her reach it.
Nathalia Filgueiras had already built a serious flying career
According to Federal Aviation Administration records, Nathalia Filgueiras held commercial pilot and flight instructor licenses by the time of the crash. She was also rated to fly larger, more complex aircraft and to serve as a first officer in the Learjet 60.
Her family told CNN Brasil that she graduated from American Flyers, a well-known aviation school in the United States. Her stepfather also said she got her pilot’s license before she even had a driver’s license.
In a 2023 interview with WPEC, Filgueiras said she liked being different and found it funny that people thought it was strange she could fly planes but not drive a car. She said her goal was to become a commercial airline pilot or fly private jets.
Final minutes of the flight were filled with turbulence and emergency calls
The Learjet 60 was traveling from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas when it ran into bad weather near Florida’s Gulf Coast. Less than 20 minutes before the crash, air traffic control warned the crew that the requested turn toward Freeport could put them near a thunderstorm.
In audio released from the flight, Filgueiras told controllers the aircraft was hitting turbulence and light icing. She later said the plane was descending rapidly and called a mayday as the situation worsened. Her last transmission was, “We’re out of time.”
Officials said the plane passed through a strong storm cell shortly before the sudden descent. The exact role of weather has not been determined, but it is one of the central issues investigators are examining.
Nine people died when the jet plunged into a South Florida roadway
Everyone on board was killed when the Learjet crashed nose-first into a roadway, sending debris across the area and leaving a crater in the pavement. Footage from a vehicle dashboard camera captured the crash, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the aircraft fell so fast that it “looked like a missile going down.”
The victims included tech entrepreneur Adam Robinson, Helen Sharp, their children Emma and Charlie, caregiver Anita Maria Cetina, Rachael Reed, Charmi Fehr, Nathalia Filgueiras and pilot Jeff Gregory. The flight had been headed for the Bahamas.
Investigators recovered part of the plane’s engine on Thursday while continuing to search the impact site for clues. They are also trying to locate the rest of the wreckage and any cockpit voice recorder that may still be inside the debris field.
A broken left elevator and missing recorder are key clues
NTSB member Tom Chapman said one of the strongest pieces of evidence so far is the jet’s left elevator, the tail surface that helps control pitch. Investigators found it in three pieces between 1.3 and 3.8 miles from the crater, showing that it separated before impact.
What investigators do not yet know is whether that failure caused the dive or whether the force of the dive tore the part away. Chapman said weather remains a key focus, but the agency has not said whether it alone could explain the crash.
Maintenance records show the jet had a cockpit voice recorder installed, but officials do not yet know whether it remained on board after the wreck. Chapman said the goal is not only to determine what happened, but also why it happened and how to prevent a repeat.
A family plans to remember her by continuing to fly
Filgueiras said he and his daughter spent the afternoon together at a boat show just four days before the crash, then had lunch before parting ways. He said he felt an unexplained sadness after they said goodbye, not knowing it would be the last time he would see her.
He told CNN that he intends to keep flying and carry her memory with him every time he takes off. “I will continue her legacy,” he said, adding that each flight will feel like a way to stay connected to her and make her proud.
Her mother described Nathalia as responsible and hardworking, and family members said she was born in Florida and raised in a Brazilian family living there. For her father, though, the most important memory is simpler: a daughter who loved aviation as much as he did.