The 20-year-old co-pilot on the Learjet that crashed in Florida last weekend was recalled by her former flight instructor as “extremely gifted”.
Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras earned her pilot’s license while still in high school before earning her driver’s license. After the tragedy, flight instructor Chris Kirk posted about his former student on Facebook, describing Phil Guerras as a true genius in the cockpit.
“She is without a doubt the most talented pilot I have ever taught, and I’ve been teaching for 40 years!!” he wrote Wednesday. “That young lady was born to fly! There was never a flight test that the examiner was not shocked by!”
“It breaks my heart because a lot of pilots in training today never want to be pilots and just want to be airline pilots… I see this time and time again when I check rides,” Kirk continued. “They have no passion for flying. They just want to be in the airlines and make a lot of money… Natalia is passionate about flying! She is a [100%] A born pilot. ”
The flight instructor concluded by praying that Filgueiras “continues to fly among the clouds of heaven.”
In the heartbreaking recording of the doomed flight, Phil Guerras can be heard informing air traffic control of the plane’s speed and altitude before announcing that the plane was about to “hit the ground” and “has timed out.” As soon as she finished speaking, the plane crashed and exploded in the street, killing all nine people on board.
Tell The New York Post said her daughter had been a pilot for nine months when the crash occurred.
“I want her to achieve her dreams, but I know her dreams will take her away from me,” she told the outlet. “I knew a plane was going to take her away from me. I always knew that, but I’m so proud of her. I know she’s living her dream.”