20-Year-Old Learjet Co-Pilot Made Mayday Call Before Florida Crash

Washington: Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, a 20-year-old co-pilot, desperately called for help before a fatal Florida crash. The Learjet crashed and exploded in South Florida while travelling from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas.

Air traffic control recordings captured Filgueiras repeatedly shouting, “Mayday, mayday!” moments before the aircraft plunged. She warned controllers that ice was accumulating on the jet during the flight. She also reported an outside temperature of minus 47 degrees Celsius and moderate turbulence. The turbulence reportedly pushed the aircraft up by approximately 700 feet. Moments later, Filgueiras reported a terrifying descent of 10,000 feet per minute. She then warned controllers that the aircraft was descending at 20,000 feet per minute.

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Pilot’s Early Career, Final Moments and Victims of the Tragic Crash

“We’re going to crash into the ground,” she reportedly shouted. Flight tracking data from ADS-B Exchange later showed the Learjet plunged 27,000 feet within one minute. Filgueiras earned her private pilot’s licence in 2023, when she was just 17. She attended West Boca Raton Community High School and joined its specialised aviation academy. The programme provided students with practical training through flight simulators and drones. Her mother, Camila Gadelha Corteleti, described her daughter as responsible and hardworking.

She also told CNN Brasil that Filgueiras could not make decisions as co-pilot. Her stepfather, Thiago Corteleti, said she had accumulated approximately 1,300 flying hours. Filgueiras had also texted her boyfriend, Justin, shortly before the crash. She reportedly mentioned turbulence and ice during their final conversation. The crash killed seven passengers, including Adam Robinson, his wife and their two children. The victims also included Rachael Reed, Charmi Fehr and Anita Maria Cetina. Robinson founded Retention.com and co-founded the email marketing company Robly. Austin’s technology community remembered him as an important part of its entrepreneurial network.

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