Florida Learjet Co-Pilot's Stepfather Says Daughter Is 'Under the Ground With That Airplane' After Crash

The stepfather of Florida Learjet co-pilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras has spoken of his family's anguish after the 20-year-old died in Palm Beach County on Sunday, 1 November 2026.

Thiago Corteleti said their daughter was 'under the ground with that airplane'. The Learjet 60 had departed Austin, Texas, for North Eleuthera in the Bahamas when it crashed, leaving a crater in a roadway. All nine people aboard died, including captain Jeff Gregory, 55.

Florida Learjet Co-Pilot's Stepfather Speaks of Loss

'All we know is that our daughter is down there, under the ground with that airplane,' Corteleti told The Wall Street Journal outside the family's Boca Raton home on Monday, 2 November.

His words conveyed the family's distress rather than an official account of where Filgueiras's remains were located.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said on 5 November that excavation and wreckage recovery were continuing. It did not specify the recovery circumstances of individual victims.

Her mother, Camila Corteleti, also confirmed the young co-pilot's death. Filgueiras had earned a private pilot's licence at 17, before obtaining a driving licence, while attending West Boca Raton Community High School.

Her early flight training was supported through the Palm Beach County School District's aviation programme. She hoped to become a commercial airline pilot and was working towards a career she had pursued since her teenage years.

Florida Learjet Co-Pilot's Final Radio Messages

Recordings of the aircraft's exchanges with air traffic control captured an increasingly urgent emergency. Filgueiras reported a descent of roughly 20,000 ft per minute before warning that the jet was about to hit the ground.

An air traffic controller urged the crew to keep communicating. Filgueiras continued reporting the aircraft's descent and steep banking angle, even as its situation deteriorated.

Her longtime friend Mikaela Schluth told CBS News that Filgueiras 'was able to stay calm and give information, up until the last minute'. Schluth described hearing the final recordings as devastating.

Before the crash, Filgueiras reportedly texted her boyfriend about turbulence. According to the NTSB, the crew reported light, clear ice and moderate turbulence while flying at approximately 35,000 ft.

The pilots requested clearance to climb to 37,000 ft shortly before the emergency. Investigators have not established whether icing, weather conditions or another factor caused the aircraft's loss of control.

Florida Learjet Crash Investigation Examines Tail Wreckage

At a briefing on Monday, 2 November, NTSB member Tom Chapman said investigators had evidence that the Learjet began breaking apart before impact. Further details emerged the following day.

On Tuesday, Chapman said three sections of the left elevator, a flight-control surface on the tail, had been recovered between 1.3 and 3.8 miles from the impact site.

Investigators have not determined whether the separation contributed to the loss of control or resulted from forces acting on the aircraft during its descent.

The passengers included Austin technology entrepreneur Adam Robinson, his wife Helen Sharp, their children Emma, 4, and Charlie, 2, and friends Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr. The family's nanny, identified by the Associated Press as Ana María Ramírez Cetina, also died.

The group was reportedly travelling to celebrate Robinson's birthday. The NTSB says its investigation remains ongoing, with no probable cause announced.