A series of unanswered questions loom around the devastating plane crash that took place in the Greenacres mobile home community in Palm Beach, Florida.
Investigators are trying to piece together what happened in the aircraft's final moments, when 20-year-old co-pilot Nathalia Filgueiras was heard screaming from the cockpit.
Officials gave chilling new details about the crash that claimed nine lives, including two kids.
Highlights
- The 20-year-old co-pilot was heard screaming before the Learjet crashed in a Florida neighborhood.
- The crew reported icing and turbulence before requesting permission to climb to 37,000 feet.
- Investigators believe the aircraft may have started breaking apart before hitting the ground.
- Netizens questioned whether Nathalia was too young to be flying the $2 million private jet.
What really happened aboard the jet that plunged about 37,000 feet toward the ground in a matter of moments?
The $2 million private jet took off from Austin, Texas, and was headed to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas when it crashed, clipping a tree and bringing down power lines.
Piloting the plane was Jeff Gregory, 55, and his co-pilot was 20-year-old Nathalia Filgueiras.
Nathalia's terrified voice was the last thing heard from the cockpit, and officials are still investigating whether she had control of the plane or not.
The youngster, who first got her pilot’s license in high school at 17, was heard frantically passing on information to the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center and screaming right before the crash.
The 20-year-old co-pilot's final words were heard in chilling air traffic control audio
“We’re going to crash into the ground,” Nathalia said after making desperate “mayday” calls.
She was heard screaming before delivering the haunting final message: “Holy f***, we’re out of time.”
Her mother, Camila Gadelha Corteleti, told CNN Brasil that Nathalia was “a very good girl – responsible, hardworking.”
“She was the co-pilot and couldn’t make any decisions,” the mother added.
Experts believe she knew she was going to lose her life while trying to speak to the air traffic controller
Her family said the 20-year-old wanted to be a pilot since she was 12. She reportedly worked as a commercial pilot for the last nine months and logged over 1,300 flight hours.
The young co-pilot “fought until the last moment she could,” her 21-year-old sister, Giulia Filgueiras, reportedly said in an interview outside her home in Boca Raton, Florida.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, also a jet pilot, said the young pilot likely knew her end was coming.
“She was doing her job, communicating with (air traffic control) right to the end in a terrifying situation,” Jared wrote on X.
“She likely knew before many of those calls that she was going to d*e,” he added.
Authorities revealed new details about the crash during a Monday press conference.
The Learjet 60 was flying at approximately 35,000 feet when the pilots informed air traffic control that they were experiencing manageable icing, along with moderate turbulence.
Later, they reported encountering precipitation and requested permission to climb to 37,000 feet in an attempt to avoid the conditions.
Their request was approved. But less than 30 seconds later, the aircraft announced that they were descending and issued a mayday call.
“The weather conditions are a major focus of the investigation,” National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) member Tom Chapman said on Monday.
“You all saw what the weather was like here at the surface,” he added. “What we have to determine is what the weather conditions were like at altitude.”
Moreover, the aircraft may have started coming apart mid-air even before nose-diving into the ground.
“We do have some indication that the aircraft was breaking up before impact,” Chapman said while addressing reporters. “We may find parts of the aircraft some distance away from the actual impact site.”
Key components of the jet's tail may have been lost during the turbulence or the rapid descent, during which the plane rapidly plunged about 20,000 feet per minute.
When components are lost, “you cannot control an airplane at that point. And that very well could explain the missile-like profile just before it hit the ground,” said former NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration investigator Jeff Guzzetti.
Since the crash took place, netizens have claimed Nathalia was “too young” to be a co-pilot.
“Too young to d*e, and too young to fly in these weather conditions,” one person said online.
Another wrote, “These pilots were amateurs and in way over their heads. They were lovers, not professionals. Their behavior and poor judgment k*lled others.”
“I disagree with giving a teen a pilot's license,” said another. “They need more maturity and experience. I’d never fly with one.”
As per U.S. Federal Aviation Administration regulations, applicants can be certified private pilots by the age of 17 and certified commercial pilots by 18.
But a private pilot certificate alone does not qualify someone to serve as a pilot in command of a Learjet 60 because additional qualifications and ratings are required.
Back in 2023, Nathalia was in the news for becoming a licensed pilot while still in high school.
“I definitely do brag because people say, ‘Oh, you can't drive,’ and I'm like, ‘Yeah, but I can fly,’” Nathalia, who was a senior at West Boca Raton High School in Florida at the time, told CBS12 News.
The youngster began her ground school training in 2020, before entering her sophomore year of high school. She also learned the ropes from her father, who had taken up recreational flying in 2018.
Her training was funded by the School District of Palm Beach County through its Aviation Academy and included theoretical lessons, simulator sessions, and actual time in the cockpit.
She said in 2023 that she had already logged 88 hours of flight time.
“Sounds more and more like a cover-up,” one commented online
