The aviation community is mourning the loss of 20-year-old co-pilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras after she was among nine killed in a catastrophic Florida Learjet crash last weekend.
Filgueiras, who earned her pilot’s license before even obtaining a driver’s license, was remembered by her former flight instructor Chris Kirk as “without a doubt the most naturally gifted pilot I have ever taught” after 40 years in aviation instruction. In an emotional Facebook post, Kirk described his former student as a once-in-a-generation talent untainted by career ambitions.
A Natural in the Cockpit
“That young lady was born to fly!” Kirk wrote. “There was not a check ride that the examiner was not blown away.” His tribute contrasted Filgueiras’s deep passion with what he called the transactional motivations of many contemporary trainees only pursuing airline careers for financial gain.
The young pilot’s final moments were captured in haunting air traffic control audio where she calmly reported their imminent crash in Broward County before the jet struck a roadway in a fiery explosion. Filgueiras had been working professionally as a pilot for just nine months at the time of the tragedy.
A Mother’s Pride and Grief
Speaking to The New York Post, Filgueiras’s mother Camila shared her painful awareness of aviation’s risks mixed with pride in her daughter’s achievements. “I knew that a plane was gonna take her away from me,” she said. “But I was so proud of her. I know she was living her dream.”
Emergency responders described the crash scene as devastating, with wreckage strewn across multiple vehicles and properties. The National Transportation Safety Board has launched an investigation into what caused the Learjet to plummet from 4,000 feet shortly after takeoff from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport.
Kirk concluded his remembrance with a wish that Filgueiras might “continue to fly amongst the clouds in heaven,” as condolences poured in from across the aviation world for the loss of a pilot many believed would have reached extraordinary heights.
Source: www.dailywire.com โ https://www.dailywire.com/news/20-year-old-pilot-who-died-in-horrific-crash-remembered-as-rare-talent-who-was-born-to-fly