Co-pilot texted boyfriend about turbulence before fatal Florida Learjet crash
Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras sent a message regarding ice and turbulence 10 minutes before the aircraft crashed in Palm Beach County.
A 20-year-old co-pilot, Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, sent a text message to her pilot boyfriend about turbulence and ice shortly before her Learjet crashed in Florida on Sunday afternoon. According to the Times of India, the aircraft plunged to the ground in Palm Beach County at approximately 12:50 pm, killing all nine people on board.
Filgueiras' stepfather, Thiago Corteleti, told the New York Post that the message was sent around 12:40 pm. He stated that she said, "I've got turbulence, I've got ice."
The Learjet 60 had departed Austin, Texas, on Sunday morning and was en route to the Bahamas when the accident occurred. The aircraft crashed in a residential area, leaving debris scattered across nearly half a mile.
Witness Anthony Blackmon, an 18-year-old high school student living near the site, said the plane seemed completely disintegrated. He reported that residents were evacuated from their homes overnight.
Filgueiras had accumulated around 1,300 hours of flying experience and obtained her private pilot's licence in October 2023 at the age of 17. The identity of the other co-pilot on the flight has not yet been identified.