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Mon, Nov 2, 2026

Co-Pilot of Private Jet that Crashed Near Mar-a-Lago Identified as 20-Year-Old Aviation Prodigy

Co-Pilot of Private Jet that Crashed Near Mar-a-Lago Identified as 20-Year-Old Aviation Prodigy

The female co-pilot of the doomed Learjet that nosedived into the ground near Palm Beach, FL on Sunday has been identified as Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras.

She was only 20 years old.

Moments before the plane crashed, Filgueiras was heard on ATC audio screaming and declaring "we're out of time."

For reference, here's the horrifying audio:

Nathalia Filgueiras was known as an 'aviation prodigy' who learned how to fly an aircraft before she could even legally drive.

Fox News shared a photo of her:

BREAKING: The co-pilot killed in the fiery Florida Learjet crash has been identified as a 20-year-old aviation prodigy who earned her pilot's license before she could legally drive.

Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras was aboard the private jet when it suddenly plunged into a South Florida neighborhood Sunday, erupting into a massive fireball and killing all nine people on board.

The aspiring airline pilot earned her wings at just 17 while still attending high school in Palm Beach County.

Investigators are now examining the deadly crash after the flight crew reported icing and turbulence before losing altitude.

Her parents confirmed that she was behind the controls of the aircraft at the time of the crash.

Sadly, her mother admitted that she always suspected flying "was going to be the thing that would take her away from me."

Per the New York Post:

Filgueiras's mother, Camila, and her stepfather confirmed to The Post that she was the co-pilot flying a Learjet 60 from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas when it entered a steep nosedive – plummeting at over 20,000 feet per minute – and smashed into the ground in Palm Beach County on Sunday afternoon.

The grieving mom said that her daughter, who would have turned 21 in January, had been working as a commercial pilot for nine months.

"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 said from her home in Palm Beach County.

"I knew that a plane was gonna take her away from me. I always knew it but I was so proud of her. I know she was living her dream," she said.

Camila's husband, Thiago Corteleti, 44, told The Post that Filgueiras had 1,300 hours of flying experience.

She texted her boyfriend, Justin, just 10 minutes before the plane crashed, he said.

"She just said, 'I've got turbulence, I've got ice,'" Corteleti said.

Nathalia Filgueiras was proud of her flying achievements.

She often posted photos and videos on social media boasting about how she obtained a pilot's license at such a young age.

Take a look:

Three years before the crash, Filgueiras was featured in local media, where she joked about being able to fly a plane better than she could drive a car.

From Daily Mail:

The young pilot's father, Allan Filgueiras, who is a recreational pilot, taught her how to fly, and she used to enjoy watching planes take off from Boca Raton Airport, her mother said.

When Filgueiras was a senior at West Boca Raton High School, she spoke with CBS12 about earning her Private Pilot's License before she knew how to drive.

'I definitely do brag because people say, "oh you can't drive," and I'm like, "yeah but I can fly,"' she told the local news station in October 2023.

'I like being different than everyone, so to me I think it's cool that like it's not really an opportunity, I just didn't do it, and this is how it ended up,' she added.

'But I think it's cool. Some people think that it's weird that I can fly planes, but I can't drive a car, I mean I can but, a lot of people think it's funny. I think it's funny and I now want my (drivers) license really bad.'

Filgueiras attended Ground School before securing her license, which involves two-to-three years of theory training and flight simulations, along with 40 hours of flight time with an instructor and ten hours solo piloting.

Her social media celebrated her flying achievements, including a photograph posted on Facebook showing the wing of a plane over a cloudy sky.

Her father wrote beneath the image that he was 'a proud dad of a super pilot', while her aunt, Tamara Filgueiras, added: 'I am a proud aunt and both of you are super pilots'.

Corteleti also often shared images of Filgueiras and her siblings traveling on private jets.

Along with Nathalia Filgueiras, there was a male pilot in the cockpit of the Learjet.

He could be heard reciting the Lord's Prayer just before the crash.

Along with the two pilots, seven passengers were killed in the crash.

At this time, none of the other victims' identities has not been revealed. An investigation into the cause of the crash is still ongoing.

This whole story is very sad and tragic. Please keep the victims' loved ones in your prayers.

We'll continue to bring you further developments as they come in.


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