Father of young co-pilot killed in jet crash says recording shows she fought until the last minute

Allan Filgueiras has listened to the distressing air traffic control call that recorded his daughter’s last words over and over again, searching for a clue as to what led the Learjet 60 jet she was co-piloting to crash in Florida on Sunday, killing all nine people on board.

Instead, what he heard was how his daughter, 20-year-old Nathalia Filgueiras, valiantly fought until the very last minute to keep control of the aircraft, the father said.

“She made me so proud,” Allan Filgueiras, who is also a pilot, said. “She showed me what it is to be a hero.”

The father spoke for the first time since the tragic event at a news conference Friday alongside Stuart Grossman, an attorney representing the family.

They focused on expressing their condolences to those close to the eight other people killed in the crash, emphasizing the importance of an investigation into what happened, and remembering Filgueiras’ daughter.

“The purpose of this is to preserve not just her memory but her reputation,” Grossman said. “Nathalia was beyond an average pilot; she was extraordinary.”

Inspired by her father, Nathalia Filgueiras was determined to learn how to fly planes. Allan Filgueiras was the one who began teaching his daughter first before she went on to earn her pilot’s license while still in high school.

“When we were flying together, I used to instruct her. And then, she became my instructor,” Allan Filgueiras said of his daughter. “She was gifted, and my soulmate.”

Grossman said she fell in love with flying because her father would take her up starting at the age of 12. “That compounds our tragedy, knowing this is where it all began,” the attorney said.

Born into a Brazilian household in Boca Raton, Florida, Allan Filgueiras reminisced about teaching his daughter to speak Portuguese at home. When she was a 17-year-old senior at West Boca Raton Community High School, Nathalia Filgueiras got her private pilot’s license thanks to a program from the Palm Beach County School District, which paid for her to attend her school’s aviation academy.

“She said, ‘Dad, can you believe that I would pay for this, but they’re actually paying me?’” Allan Filgueiras said, remembering how his daughter felt when she got into the program. “It was her happiest moment.”

Grossman said he understands how many people might be surprised to learn that someone as young as 20 could be a co-pilot in a private jet. “But wait until you see her hours, and what the government proves about her capabilities,” the attorney said. “She was really special. This is a loss to aviation.”

One of Nathalia Filgueiras’ flight instructors, Chris Kirk, told TODAY.com on Thursday that while the young pilot had remarkably good, innate skills to fly planes, she was known for showing up “overprepared” to complete her practical tests — which are required to receive specific pilot certificates.

“She was at the top of her class in everything she did and she was perfectly qualified to be the co-pilot of this flight despite her tender years,” Grossman said.

According to Grossman, the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating what caused the crash, sent 20 investigators to South Florida to look into what led to the tragedy.

The pilot killed in the crash was identified as Capt. Jeff Gregory and had previously worked for East Coast Jets, the private jet charter company’s director, April Honnen, said on Facebook. The passengers killed were identified by relatives as Adam Robinson and Helen Sharp and their children, Emma, 4, and Charlie, 2. The other passengers were Rachael Reed, Charmi Fehr and Anita Maria Cetina, the families said on Facebook.

NTSB investigators said on Thursday they have recovered parts of one of the Learjet 60 jet’s engines and are still excavating the crater left on the ground at the site of the crash in Greenacre.

“We’re not making allegations against anybody at this time. We’re going to do the right thing. We’re going to listen to what the government uncovers. Then we’ll have our experts look at it and say they agree or not,” Grossman said.

When Allan Filgueiras thinks back to the air traffic control call from Sunday, when his daughter warned that the jet was “descending 10,000 feet per minute” and about to crash, he wishes he could have been “by her side inside the plane to help, to be by her.”

“It feels like someone is tearing the heart right out of my chest,” the father said. “I have to find a way to live and make it through.”

“Nathalia doesn’t want to see a father falling apart,” he added. “I’m going to find a way to make her proud.”