A female pilot flying the same Learjet that later crashed in Florida was previously reprimanded by air traffic control after appearing to underestimate the severity of turbulence.
The incident occurred over Newark, New Jersey, in May, when an air traffic controller asked the pilot, “Why are you climbing?”
“We were just about to call you. We are experiencing moderate [turbulence] and are unable to maintain altitude,” the pilot replied.
The frustrated controller responded firmly: “That is not moderate. Descend to 4,000 [feet] immediately.”
“If you can’t maintain altitude, that is not moderate—that is severe turbulence. Are you experiencing severe turbulence?” he added.
The woman and a man then both replied, “Affirmative, sir,” before the audio recording, shared by ATC.com, ended.
It remains unclear whether the woman heard in the recording was Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, 20. Filgueiras was the co-pilot of the Learjet that crashed in Palm Beach on Sunday, killing her and eight other people amid speculation that severe weather may have brought down the aircraft.
The Learjet involved in the turbulence incident carried the same tail number, N7226D, as the aircraft that plunged into the ground while flying from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas. It was owned by Upper Jets, a private aviation company based in Fort Lauderdale, just south of the crash site.
Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, 20, was identified as the co-pilot aboard the Bahamas-bound flight that crashed in Florida
Horrifying dashcam footage captured the fatal crash, showing the jet almost vertical as it plunged toward the ground
Filgueiras is pictured behind the controls of the Learjet involved in both the New Jersey incident and the weekend crash, with the aircraft’s call sign visible on the dashboard
Filgueiras grew up in Palm Beach County and was previously featured in a local media report after earning her pilot’s license in 2023 at age 17.
She told CBS12: “I definitely brag about it because people say, ‘Oh, you can’t drive,’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, but I can fly.’”
Her mother, Camila, frequently shared photos of Filgueiras and her siblings traveling on private jets. Her father, Allan, also held a pilot’s license.
Camila told The New York Times: “She loved the freedom. It was completely different seeing the world from the top.”
Filgueiras appeared to have a deep passion for aviation, and Our News Outlet has found several videos she posted of herself flying.
In one video, shared in September this year, she is seen at the controls of the same jet involved in the devastating crash.
The fatal crash was captured on disturbing dashcam footage, which showed the jet nearly vertical as it hurtled toward the ground.
Experts said the aircraft appeared to be traveling at close to the speed of sound.
The jet struck the ground and exploded almost instantly, throwing pieces of asphalt into the air as thick black smoke spread across the crash site.
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The pilots of the jet involved in Sunday’s deadly crash had previously clashed with an air traffic controller over turbulence in New Jersey; the earlier flight path is shown here
Federal authorities are investigating the crash to determine what went wrong
The identities of the other people aboard have not yet been released. Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board said at a news conference on Monday that a man on the ground suffered a leg injury after being struck by debris near the crash site.
Sunday’s crash occurred as Filgueiras and an unidentified male pilot attempted to navigate through two storm systems, known as cells.
Several experts have speculated that the aircraft may have entered “coffin corner” while climbing to reach a higher altitude above the storm systems.
At high altitudes, the gap between the aircraft’s safe minimum and maximum speeds becomes extremely narrow. Flying below or above that range can cause a stall or a loss of control.
Air traffic controllers in nearby Miami had authorized the pilots to “deviate left and right” because of “moderate precipitation… to the southeast,” which they described as “pretty nasty” as the twin-engine business jet approached the area.
Controllers were later heard referring to “moderate turbulence” before Filgueiras’s voice became increasingly panicked as she realized the aircraft was in serious trouble.
She said: “Seven two two bravo delta, we’re descending 8,000… mayday, mayday… we’re descending 10,000 feet per minute.”
Seconds later, she declared: “Declaring emergency, declaring emergency, we are in an overspeed condition.”
Her voice grew more distressed as she said: “Descending 20,000 feet per minute… we’re going to crash into the ground.”
The impact created a huge crater in the middle of the road and damaged nearby infrastructure
“I’m here with you. Talk to me,” the air traffic controller said in an attempt to calm the pilots.
Filgueiras replied: “We are descending 22,000 feet, and we are banking 60 degrees.” She then screamed: “We’re out of time.”
In a harrowing moment, the pilot was also heard reciting the Lord’s Prayer just seconds before impact.
Our News Outlet has chosen not to publish the final seconds of the recording because they are extremely distressing.
Flight data shows that the aircraft departed from Austin, Texas, bound for North Eleuthera in the Bahamas, before its journey ended abruptly near West Palm Beach.
The crash scattered debris across a wide area and left a massive crater in the roadway.
Outgoing Governor Ron DeSantis told reporters on Sunday: “It was a cataclysmic plane crash.”
“It looked like a missile going down and left a big crater on the side of the road,” he added.
