Nathalia Gadelha, 20, was identified as the copilot of a Learjet 60 that crashed in South Florida, killing all nine people aboard. (Foto: Instagram)
Nathalia Gadelha, a 20-year-old from a Brazilian family, was identified by U.S. authorities as the copilot of a Learjet 60 that crashed in South Florida on Sunday, Nov. 1, killing all nine people aboard. The jet exploded after going down over a mobile home park in Palm Beach County.
The aircraft was traveling from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas when it plunged at a reported rate of more than 6,000 meters per minute and struck the ground. The New York Post reported that Gadelha’s voice was heard in an air traffic control recording released after the crash. Her mother, Camila Gadelha Corteleti, and stepfather, Thiago Corteletios, confirmed that she was the pilot heard calling for help.
In the recording, the pilot declared an emergency and reported that the aircraft was descending at 20,000 feet per minute. A controller responded, “Understood. Let me know what you need.” After receiving no response, the controller said, “November 2 Bravo Delta, I’m here with you. Talk to me.” The pilot then reported, “We’re descending at 22,000 feet and banking at 60 degrees.”
The recording continued with the pilot saying, “We’re going to die. We’re going to die. We’re going to hit the ground. Look outside,” followed by, “We’re out of time.” The controller asked whether the pilot could hear and identified the call as coming from Miami. The transmission then cut off.
Gadelha had earned her pilot’s license while still in high school and had worked as a commercial pilot for nine months. Her stepfather said she sent a message to her boyfriend, Justin, about 10 minutes before the crash, telling him she was experiencing turbulence and ice.
Gadelha grew up in Palm Beach County and received her private pilot’s license at age 17, in October 2023, before she had a driver’s license. In a local media interview at the time, she joked that when people told her she could not drive, she replied, “That’s true, but I can fly.” She trained at American Flyers, an aviation school based in Addison, Texas, with a branch in Pompano Beach, Florida.
Camila said she was proud that her daughter was pursuing her dream, even though she feared flying would take her away. She said she knew Gadelha was living the life she wanted and added that, if her daughter could have chosen how to die, she might have chosen that way—but “I didn’t want it to be so soon.” Authorities had not identified the other eight victims.
