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The 20-year-old co-pilot on the doomed Learjet that crashed in Florida last weekend was remembered by her flying instructor as “the most naturally gifted pilot” who was “born to fly!”
Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras — who earned her pilot license in high school, even before she could drive — “aced” all her flying exams, longtime instructor Chris Kirk said alongside a selfie of them beaming together in the cockpit.
“She was without a doubt the most naturally gifted pilot I have ever taught, and I have been teaching for 40 years!!” he posted on Facebook while proudly saying he was one of her first instructors.
“That young lady was born to fly! There was not a check ride that the examiner was not blown away!”
Nathalia “absolutely aced” her pilot-in-command training to fly a Learjet, he said, so much so that an examiner assumed she’d logged 5,000 hours when she’d actually only had just under 1,100, he said.
The pilot-in-command training qualifies pilots to act as the captain or sole pilot of a specific aircraft type.
The doomed $2 million Learjet 60 was flying to the Bahamas from Texas Sunday when it suddenly stalled while attempting to fly over a storm and began to nosedive over Palm Beach street.
As the plane started its rapid descent, Nathalia, who was copiloting the aircraft, made a desperate mayday call to air traffic control over the radio.
“722 Bravo Delta, we’re descending 8,000 Mayday, Mayday, we’re descending 10,000 feet per minute!” she was heard yelling.
Nathalia continued updating air traffic control on their speed and altitude before declaring they were about to “crash into the ground” and were “out of time” — moments before the jet smashed into the ground in a massive fireball, killing everyone on board.
Her mother, Camila, told The Post her daughter, who would have turned 21 in January, had been working as a commercial pilot for nine months.
Here’s the latest on the fatal Learjet crash in Florida
- ‘Important pieces’ of doomed Learjet separated before crash that killed 9: officials
- Learjet expert reveals crucial mistake pilots made before horrific Florida crash
- Friend reacts to Learjet co-pilot Nathalia Filgueiras’ haunting last words before deadly crash
- Tech exec Learjet victim made chilling post about ‘crashing a plane’ months before dying with family on flight
“I wanted her to live her dream, but I knew that her dream was going to be the thing that would take her away from me,” the grieving mother said from her home in Palm Beach County.
“I knew that a plane was gonna take her away from me. I always knew it but I was so proud of her. I know she was living her dream,” she said.
