# Tragic Learjet co-pilot Nathalia Filgueiras’ instructor calls her ‘most naturally gifted’ aviator he’s ever taught: ‘That young lady was born to fly!’

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/tragic-learjet-co-pilot-nathalia-filgueiras-instructor-calls-her-most-naturally-gifted-aviator-hes-ever-taught-that-young-lady-was-born-to-fly/
- Published: 2026-11-05T12:15:25+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-05T12:22:03+00:00
- Original publisher: New York Post (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://nypost.com/2026/11/05/us-news/florida-plane-crash-co-pilot-nathalia-filgueiras-remembered-by-mentor-after-learjet-death/
- Topics: World

## Key points

- Instructor called Filgueiras the most naturally gifted pilot he had taught.
- She had just under 1,100 flight hours and was training to captain a Learjet.
- She died with everyone aboard after the jet crashed in Florida.

## Summary

Twenty-year-old Learjet co-pilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras has been remembered by her instructor as an exceptionally gifted aviator after she died in a crash in Florida. His account highlights how quickly she progressed from earning a pilot’s licence in high school to flying commercially, and the personal cost of a career she had pursued with her family’s pride.

Instructor Chris Kirk, who has taught for 40 years, said Filgueiras aced her flying exams and Learjet pilot-in-command training. An examiner reportedly thought she had 5,000 flight hours, though she had just under 1,100. The Learjet 60 was flying from Texas to the Bahamas on Sunday when it stalled while trying to pass over a storm; Filgueiras radioed a mayday as it descended rapidly, and everyone aboard was killed. Her mother said she had worked as a commercial pilot for nine months and would have turned 21 in January.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.