Young Learjet co-pilot remembered as gifted pilot after fatal Florida crash

Nathalia Filgueiras, a 20-year-old co-pilot, died when a Learjet crashed near West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday, killing all nine people on board. Her former instructor remembered her as exceptionally gifted and passionate about flying, while federal authorities investigate the cause of the crash.

Instructor Chris Kirk said Filgueiras had fewer than 1,100 flight hours when she passed her Learjet Pilot-in-Command type rating, and that an examiner thought she had about 5,000 hours. Before the crash, the aircraft was flying from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas; cockpit communications described a rapid descent and an overspeed emergency, while Filgueiras had reportedly texted her boyfriend about turbulence and ice.