Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, a 20-year-old pilot who earned her private pilot’s license while still in high school, has been identified as the co-pilot aboard a Learjet 60 that crashed in Palm Beach County, Florida, on Sunday afternoon. All nine people aboard the aircraft were killed.
Her mother, Camila, and stepfather, Thiago Corteleti, confirmed her identity to the New York Post. According to reports, the aircraft was traveling from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas when it entered a steep descent before crashing. The jet reportedly descended at a rate of more than 20,000 feet per minute.
Filgueiras had been working as a commercial pilot for approximately nine months, according to her family. Her stepfather said she had accumulated around 1,300 flight hours.
In an interview with the New York Post, her mother said Filgueiras would have celebrated her 21st birthday in January. She also spoke about the heartbreak of losing her daughter, explaining that she had always feared aviation might one day take her away but was proud that her daughter had pursued her dream.
Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras Earned Her Pilot’s License at 17
Filgueiras grew up in Palm Beach County and first attracted local media attention in October 2023, when she earned her private pilot’s license at just 17 years old, before obtaining her driver’s license.
During an interview with CBS12 at the time, she spoke about the unusual milestone.
“I definitely do brag because people say, ‘Oh, you can’t drive,’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, but I can fly,'” she said.
Her interest in aviation began in 2020, when she started taking flying lessons. Her father, who had developed an interest in flying as a hobby in 2018, also helped teach her.
By the time she was a senior at West Boca Raton High School, Filgueiras had already recorded 88 flight hours while completing her ground-school training.
The School District of Palm Beach County’s Aviation Academy also helped cover the cost of her pilot’s license after launching its program in 2023.
From Flight Instructor to Commercial Pilot
Filgueiras hoped to build a career as a commercial airline pilot. She completed aviation training at American Flyers, a flight school headquartered in Addison, Texas, with a location in Pompano Beach, Florida.
She later worked as a flight instructor at a school in Fort Lauderdale before moving into another pilot position.
Her passion for aviation was also reflected in her social media posts. In one recent video, she shared footage of herself flying with her boyfriend, Justin, who is also a pilot.
Highlighting their accomplishments, she wrote: “How often do you see 2 pilots under 21 with a commercial, multi-engine, instrument, CFI/CFI-I.”
The post reflected the aviation qualifications both had achieved at a young age.
Family Reports Final Message Before Florida Plane Crash
According to her family, Filgueiras sent a text message to her boyfriend approximately 10 minutes before the crash. She reportedly mentioned experiencing turbulence and ice.
The Learjet 60 was traveling from Austin to the Bahamas when it crashed in Palm Beach County on Sunday afternoon.
Authorities are investigating the circumstances surrounding the accident, including the events leading up to the aircraft’s rapid descent.
All nine people aboard were killed. The identities of the other eight victims had not yet been publicly confirmed in the original reports.
The investigation remains ongoing as authorities work to establish what happened before the aircraft went down.
