Allan Filgueiras said he has listened “many times” to Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras’ final radio transmissions since the Florida Learjet crash.
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The father of a 20-year-old co-pilot who died in a Florida Learjet crash said Friday he has listened repeatedly to his daughter’s final radio transmissions, describing her composure as the aircraft descended toward the ground.
Allan Filgueiras, a pilot who helped teach Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras to fly, said at a news conference that he was “marveled” by her resilience and that she showed “she’s tough” even as the plane plunged straight toward the ground on Sunday. He said, “I wanted to be by her side. Inside the plane, to help,” and added, “She showed me what it is to be a hero,” explaining she was “fighting” until the end.
In the recordings, Nathalia Filgueiras is first heard calmly telling air traffic control about ice buildup as the aircraft flew into a thunderstorm. The situation worsened as turbulence tossed the jet up and down by 700 feet (200 metres), and investigators later said it accelerated beyond its design limits during the fall. She also told controllers, “Declare an emergency 722-Bravo-Delta. We are in an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute!”
Filgueiras’ father and aviation safety experts praised her calm, even as she continued to provide updates while knowing the plane’s fate was sealed. The captain of the Learjet, 55-year-old Jeff Gregory, is believed to have been at the controls.
The family has challenged online criticism questioning whether Nathalia Filgueiras had enough experience to be in the cockpit of a high-performance business jet. Her father’s attorney, Stuart Grossman, said the news conference was intended to “preserve not just her memory, but her reputation,” adding she was “perfectly qualified” to be the co-pilot and noting there were no immediate plans for a lawsuit. Grossman said she had more than 1,300 hours of experience and had completed extensive training to earn her commercial pilot’s license and Learjet certification.
Investigators with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board have not yet determined what caused the crash. Investigators were still searching the crash area Friday after finding part of an engine a day earlier, and the cockpit recorder remains missing. The Learjet’s tail pieces were found miles away from the crash site, which is described as a deep crater on the edge of a road.
Allan Filgueiras said he helped teach his daughter after taking her aloft for the first time when she was 12, and he said she later told him she “couldn’t believe” she was getting paid to do something she loved. He described flying as “her happiest moment.”
Her mentor and instructor, Chris Kirk, said she earned her position through dedication and perseverance and that her professionalism was evident during her final radio transmissions. Kirk said that during her Learjet 60 check ride in March, the examiner believed she had more than 5,000 hours of experience—nearly four times the amount of flight time she had logged.
Kirk characterized her as “an incredible human being” and said few people could perform under the kind of duress “that’s unimaginable.” A retired airline pilot, John Cox, also said she did well to earn a Learjet co-pilot seat, describing it as “a good ride” and saying she had to impress someone to earn the right seat of a Lear 60.
Relatives said the other crash victims included technology entrepreneur Adam Robinson; his wife, Helen Sharp; and their two young children. They also said the family nanny, Ana María Ramírez Cetina, was killed, along with two additional victims identified as Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr, who owned the Arca Boutique Hotel in Honduras.
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