Learjet co-pilot's flight instructor speaks out on her experience following deadly crash
The mentor of 20-year-old Nathalia Filgueiras has posted an emotional tribute to her student following the tragic plane crash in Florida on Monday, describing her as 'one of the most talented pupils she had ever taught'.
Nathalia Filgueiras was flying alongside Jeff Gregory, 55, when the aircraft lost control and killed all nine on board.
An official, definitive cause has not yet been determined, but the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and aviation experts point to severe weather, heavy ice accumulation, extreme turbulence, and mid-air structural failure as the primary factors behind the tragic Learjet 60 crash.
Now, her former flight instructor and mentor, Chris Kirk, has shared a tribute on Facebook.
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Kirk wrote on Wednesday that Filgueiras had fewer than 1,100 flight hours when she took her Learjet type rating, which she ‘absolutely aced’.
The examiner, he said, thought she had about 5,000 hours. The pilot-in-command type rating is a certification added to a pilot's license that legally qualifies them to act as the captain or sole pilot of a specific aircraft type.
“That young lady was born to fly!” Kirk wrote, describing her as ‘without a doubt the most naturally gifted pilot I have ever taught’ in a 40-year teaching career.
“There was not a check ride that the examiner was not blown away!” he added.
Kirk said he gave her numerous opportunities to fly different airplanes, including tailwheel aircraft and the caravan.
During her spin endorsement for her CFI (Certified Flight Instructor license), he recalled that they did so many spins he began to feel nauseous.
Kirk said he was upset that so many trainee pilots 'only wanted to become airline pilots, without the passion for flying', adding that Nathalia was different, and she was 'hugely PASSIONATE about flying!!!'.
Kirk concluded: “I pray that she continues to fly amongst the clouds in heaven.”
How did the Learjet crash near West Palm Beach?
Federal authorities are investigating the crash, which left a massive crater in the roadway and a debris field stretching half a mile.
Filgueiras was co-piloting the Learjet 60 from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas when cockpit audio captured her telling air traffic control the plane was going down.
She first reported ‘moderate turbulence’ before declaring: “Mayday mayday... we’re descending 10,000ft per minute.”
Seconds later, she said: “Declaring emergency, declaring emergency, we are in an overspeed condition.”
The air traffic controller replied, “I’m here with you, talk to me,” and she answered: “We are descending 22,000ft, and we are banking 60 degrees.”
Her final transmission was “We’re out of time.”
Her family told the New York Post that she texted her boyfriend, Justin, before the crash: “I’ve got turbulence, I’ve got ice.”
Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board now say severe weather played a ‘significant factor’ and that part of the jet appeared to have broken off before impact.
Who else was on the Learjet that crashed in Florida
All nine people on board were pronounced dead, including Filgueiras and Gregory.
The other passengers were entrepreneur Adam Robinson, 45, who founded the tech company Retention, his wife Helen Sharp, 40, and their toddlers, Emma and Charlie.
The family was traveling with their nanny, Anita Maria Cetina, and another couple, Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr, for Robinson’s birthday.
In a joint statement from the victims’ families, Robinson and Sharp were remembered as ‘devoted parents’ whose children ‘were the light of their lives’. “Helen and Adam were the love affair that will last forever.”
Thomas Bamford
