Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras and her father Allan (Image: Allan Filgueiras via AP)
The father of the co-pilot who died after a private jet nosedived into the road this week said he wanted to be with her in her last moments. His heartbreaking tribute to his daughter comes after the aircraft crashed near Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Largo estate on Sunday.
The 20-year-old co-pilot, Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, tried to save the aircraft from going down. Tragically, she was among nine people who died when after Learjet 60 crashed into a street in Palm Beach, Florida during a flight from Texas to the Bahamas. Pilot-in-command Jeff Gregory also passed away.
Multi-millionaire tech founder Adam Robinson, his wife Helen Sharp and their two young children were also on board the doomed flight. They were accompanied by friends Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr as well as nanny Anita Maria Apellido Cetina.
Nathalia’s father Allan has highlighted her bravery in an emotional press conference and shared that he wanted to be with his daughter in the final moments of her life.
“I wanted to be by her side. Inside the plane, to help, to be by her. I had to be next to her,” he said, according to the New York Post.
The heartbroken father fought back tears as remembered his daughter as his “soulmate”. He also shared that Nathalia showed him “what it is to be a hero”.
The plane was heading east at 35,000 feet when pilots reported turbulence, icing and precipitation. The pilot declared an emergency as the aircraft began losing altitude at an alarming rate.
Nathalia made a desperate mayday call to air traffic control over the radio. Her last moments were captured on the gut-wrenching call: “722 Bravo Delta, we’re descending 8000. Mayday, Mayday, we’re descending 10,000 feet per minute!”
“We are banking 60 degrees, we are going to die,” she yelled.
Allan Filgueiras spoke about his daughter during a press conference (Image: Getty)
Allan has listened to his daughter’s final words several times. “I did listen to (her radio transmissions) many times, trying to find a clue in my head how that happened. And wow, she’s tough,” he said.
He also recalled how the two of them would fly together. Nathalia was first introduced to flying at the age of 12 when her dad would take her on his flights. Five years later, she secured her private pilot’s licence through a school program which paid for her to attend an aviation academy.
“When we were flying together, I used to instruct her. And then, she became my instructor,” he said.
Despite the devastating loss, Allan said he will “have to find a way to live and make it through”.
He said: “It feels like someone is tearing the heart right out of my chest. Nathalia doesn’t want to see a father falling apart … I’m going to find a way to make her proud.”
