Co-pilot of Learjet in fireball crash learned to fly at 17
The co-pilot of a private Learjet that crashed into a South Florida neighbourhood and erupted into a ball of flames earned her license at just 17-years-old and was "living her dream", reports suggest. Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, 20, has been identified as one of nine victims of the crash, which occurred during a heavy thunderstorm near Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach on Monday.
TL;DR
- A Learjet crashed into a South Florida neighborhood, resulting in nine fatalities.
- Co-pilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, 20, was identified as one of the victims.
- The crash occurred during a heavy thunderstorm near Mar-a-Lago.
- The jet was en route from Austin, Texas, to North Eleuthera, Bahamas.
- The pilot reported ice accumulation and moderate turbulence before declaring an emergency.
- The plane rapidly lost altitude, with the pilot reporting an overspeed condition and a descent rate of up to 20,000 feet per minute.
- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis described the crash as cataclysmic with no reported injuries on the ground.