“IT WAS THE WORST THING I’VE EVER HEARD”: FAMILY AND BEST FRIEND OF 20-YEAR-OLD COPILOT BREAK SILENCE AFTER HORRIFYING FINAL AUDIO OF FLORIDA JET 𝔠r𝘢sh

Her voice remained calm as she tried to warn air traffic controllers that the aircraft was rapidly losing control. Now, after hearing the final recording, Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras’s stepfather and childhood best friend are struggling to comprehend the loss of a young woman whose life revolved around flying.

PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA — November 4, 2026

The family and closest friends of a 20-year-old co-pilot killed in a devastating Florida plane 𝔠r𝘢sh have spoken publicly for the first time about the heartbreaking final moments of her flight.

Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras was serving as co-pilot aboard a Learjet 60 when it plunged thousands of feet before crashing into a residential roadway in Palm Beach County on Sunday, November 1.

All nine people aboard the aircraft died.

But it was the release of the air traffic control recordings that brought a new wave of grief to those who knew Nathalia.

Her childhood best friend, Mikaela Schluth, described listening to the recording as one of the most painful experiences of her life.

“It was definitely, probably the worst thing I’ve ever heard,” she told CBS News.

Despite the terrifying circumstances, Mikaela said she was proud of how her friend continued communicating with air traffic controllers during the emergency.

“She was able to stay calm and give information, up until the last minute.”

HER STEPFATHER STRUGGLES TO ACCEPT THE LOSS

Nathalia’s stepfather, Thiago Corteleti, has described the family’s devastating struggle to come to terms with what happened.

Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, he expressed the unbearable reality of losing a daughter in an aircraft accident.

“All we know is that our daughter is down there, under the ground with that airplane,” he said.

For her family, the tᩚraɢedy is especially difficult because Nathalia had spent years pursuing her passion for aviation.

She had earned her pilot’s license at just 17 and had accumulated approximately 1,300 flight hours by the time of her dєatᩚh.

At only 20, she had already begun building a professional career in the skies.

THE FINAL RADIO TRANSMISSIONS

The air traffic control recordings reveal how quickly the situation deteriorated.

The Learjet had been flying at approximately 35,000 feet when the crew began reporting difficult weather conditions.

Controllers in Miami had warned the pilots about precipitation and turbulence, allowing them to deviate from their route to avoid the worst conditions.

But shortly afterward, the aircraft began descending at an alarming rate.

Nathalia can be heard reporting:

“Seven two two bravo delta, we’re descending 8,000… mayday, mayday… we’re descending 10,000ft per minute.”

Moments later, she declared an emergency.

“Declaring emergency, declaring emergency, we are in an overspeed condition.”

The situation continued to worsen.

“Descending 20,000ft per minute… we’re going to 𝔠r𝘢sh into the ground,” she warned.

An air traffic controller attempted to reassure her, responding:

“I’m here with you, talk to me.”

Nathalia then reported that the aircraft was descending at approximately 22,000 feet per minute and banking at 60 degrees.

Her final reported transmission was:

“We’re out of time.”

Those words have since become one of the most haunting details of the tᩚraɢedy.

HER BEST FRIEND REMEMBERS THE GIRL BEHIND THE COCKPIT

Mikaela Schluth had known Nathalia since middle school.

To her, Nathalia was not simply a young pilot whose name appeared in news reports. She was a childhood friend whose ambition and determination had always stood out.

Mikaela said she was incredibly proud of the way Nathalia handled the emergency.

The recordings, however, made it painfully clear how little time the crew had to respond.

The loss has left friends struggling to reconcile the young woman they knew with the final moments captured in the recordings.

Nathalia had been passionate about flying from an early age and had worked hard to turn that passion into a career.

She had obtained her pilot’s license in 2023 while attending West Boca Raton Community High School.

Her family had previously described her as someone who was living her dream.

INVESTIGATORS EXAMINE WHAT CAUSED THE JET TO PLUNGE

While the emotional accounts from Nathalia’s loved ones have brought attention to the human cost of the tᩚraɢedy, investigators are still working to determine what happened aboard the aircraft.

The Learjet 60 was traveling from Austin, Texas, toward the Bahamas when the crew reported icing and turbulence.

Weather conditions are a major focus of the investigation.

Former National Transportation Safety Board chairman Robert Sumwalt identified two possible weather-related factors investigators would need to examine: icing and thunderstorms accompanied by severe turbulence.

There are also questions about whether an important aircraft component, the horizontal stabilizer, may have separated before impact.

NTSB officials have said there were indications that the aircraft may have begun breaking apart before hitting the ground.

Investigators are working to recover wreckage and the cockpit voice recorder, which could provide additional information about the pilots’ conversations and the aircraft’s condition.

No official cause has been established.

NINE PEOPLE LOST THEIR LIVES

Nathalia and Captain Jeff Gregory, 55, were the two crew members aboard the aircraft.

Seven passengers were also on board.

Among them were technology entrepreneur Adam Robinson, 45, his wife Helen Sharp, 40, their children Emma, 4, and Charlie, 2, their nanny Anita Maria Cetina, and family friends Rachel Reed and Charmi Fehr.

The family of Adam and Helen released a statement remembering them as devoted parents whose children were the center of their lives.

They also paid tribute to Anita, describing her as someone who cared for the children with tenderness and devotion.

The tᩚraɢedy has left several families mourning loved ones whose lives were cut short.

A FUTURE THAT ENDED FAR TOO SOON

For Nathalia’s family and friends, the recordings are a painful reminder of how suddenly everything changed.

She was just 20 years old.

She had earned her pilot’s license as a teenager, built up hundreds of hours in the air, and begun pursuing the career she loved.

Her childhood best friend is now left with memories of the girl she had known since school.

Her stepfather is left trying to understand a loss that no family should ever have to endure.

And investigators continue searching for answers about the final moments of the aircraft.

Nathalia spent her young life reaching for the sky. Her final radio transmission revealed a terrifying struggle to stay in control. Now, the people who loved her are left remembering not the tᩚraɢedy, but the young woman whose dream had only just begun.