A birthday post shared by 20-year-old co-pilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras has taken on a heartbreaking meaning after she was killed in a Learjet crash in Florida.
Filgueiras posted photos from her birthday in January, showing her smiling beside a cake. Her caption was brief and hopeful: “#20 Thank you God for another year! I can’t wait to see what this one brings,” followed by prayer-hands and white-heart emojis.
Ten months later, she was among nine people killed when the Learjet 60 she was co-piloting crashed in Palm Beach County.
A hopeful post met with condolences
The jet was traveling from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas on November 1 when it went down in a residential area. Captain Jeff Gregory, 55, and all seven passengers also died.
After news of the crash, Filgueiras’ birthday message began circulating online. Many commenters shared condolences, while others reflected on the painful contrast between her hopeful words and the tragedy that followed.
One commenter wrote that posts like hers felt especially difficult to read after an unexpected loss. Another called the message chilling and wished her peace.
Filgueiras’ social media account also included photographs from her travels and a post marking her Learjet 60 pilot qualification.
Radio audio captures the emergency
Audio from the aircraft’s final moments has also drawn attention. In the recordings, Filgueiras can be heard communicating with air traffic control as the jet descended. At points, she appears to urge Gregory to “look outside.”
The radio transmissions were reportedly captured because the push-to-talk button was being held, allowing cockpit voices to go out over the frequency. Neuroscientist Derek Van Schaik discussed the recordings in a YouTube video, suggesting that extreme stress could have affected the crew’s awareness of actions such as releasing the button. He also raised the possibility that Filgueiras was trying to communicate the seriousness of the emergency or seek help.
Van Schaik noted the responsibility the pilots would have felt for everyone aboard, including two very young children.
The passengers were technology entrepreneur Adam Robinson, 44; his wife, Helen Sharp; their children, Emma, 4, and Charlie, 2; their nanny, Anita Maria Ramirez Cetina; and family friends Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash. Its cause has not yet been determined.