BREAKING: Co-pilot in Palm Beach Learjet crash that killed 9 identified as 20-year-old Nathalia Gadelha, certified to fly in high school
There were scattered storms in the area at the time and the plane had passed through a storm cell just before the descent.
The Learjet co-pilot in the fatal private jet crash that took place in Florida has been identified as 20-year-old Nathalia Gadelha, who got her pilot’s license in high school.
Gadelha’s mother confirmed that she was the pilot in the crash, per the New York Post. The plane entered a nosedive and was plummeting at over 20,000 feet per minute. The plane smashed into the ground in a dramatic fireball, as seen in viral video footage.
The pilot, who grew up in Palm Beach County, got her private pilot's license at 17 in 2023 before she was licensed to drive. At the time, she told local media, “I definitely do brag because people say, ‘Oh, you can’t drive,’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, but I can fly.'"
She started pilot lessons in 2020, but her dad also taught her how to fly after he did so in 2018. The family often showed photos of them flying private jets together on social media.
“I like being different than everyone, so to me I think it’s cool that like it’s not really an opportunity, I just didn’t do it, and this is how it ended up. But I think it’s cool. Some people think that it’s weird that I can fly planes, but I can’t drive a car, I mean I can but, a lot of people think it’s funny. I think it’s funny and I now want my (drivers) license really bad,” she told reporters in 2023.
Her dream was to become a commercial airline pilot or fly pilot jets.
The plane came crashing down in a nosedive on Sunday in Florida, with nine people losing their lives. Some said that the plane came crashing down "like a missile" online.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation. Audio of a mayday call from the plane had the pilot warning of ice minutes before the crash. She said that ice was building up on the aircraft and that the temperature was –47 Celsius outside the plane.
"Mayday, mayday,” the pilot told Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center. “We’re descending 10,000 feet per minute!”
“We are in an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute,” they yelled, “We’re going to crash into the ground!”
There were scattered storms in the area at the time and the plane had passed through a storm cell just before the descent.
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