The father of the 20-year-old co-pilot of the unfortunate plane that crashed in Florida has broken his silence for the first time since the tragedy, defending his daughter's qualifications after online critics questioned if she had enough experience to fly the aircraft.
Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras's father, Allan Filgueiras, said he had been repeatedly listening to his daughter's radio calls from the flight, trying to understand what went wrong before the crash. During a press conference on Friday, November 6, the grieving father said his daughter did not panic and continued reporting emergencies to air traffic controllers as the plane plunged toward the ground.
He said: "She showed me what it is to be a hero." The Learjet 60 crashed in Palm Beach County on November 1, and all nine people aboard were killed. Nathalia was the co-pilot alongside 55-year-old Jeff Gregory.
The young co-pilot's age became a topic of criticism online after the accident, with some netizens questioning if she had enough experience to operate a high-performance business jet. Her family has defended her qualifications, stating that she had logged more than 1,300 flight hours and completed extensive training to obtain her commercial pilot's license and Learjet certification.
The family's lawyer, Stuart Grossman, said the press conference was held to protect her reputation, adding that she was fully qualified for the position. Nathalia had reported ice building up on the aircraft during a thunderstorm before warning that it was descending at 20,000 feet per minute.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has launched an investigation into the accident and has not yet determined the cause of the crash. Investigators have recovered pieces of the aircraft's tail miles from the crash site, while its cockpit voice recorder remains missing.
Aviation experts have noted that commercial licensing requirements are stringent regardless of age, and all pilots must meet the same rigorous federal standards before sitting in the cockpit of a jet. The family hopes that the ongoing probe will soon bring complete clarity regarding the sequence of events leading up to the disaster.
As memorial tributes continue to pour in from friends, family, and colleagues, the aviation community remains in deep mourning for all the lives lost in the catastrophic incident.