Nathalia Gadelha, just 20 years old, has been identified by her mother and stepfather as the co-pilot aboard the Learjet 60 that crashed in Palm Beach County, Florida, on November 1, killing all nine people on board.
Nathalia could fly an airplane before she could legally drive a car.
In October 2023, she was featured in a local news interview as a 17-year-old senior at West Boca Raton High School. She had earned her private pilot’s license the previous month and had already accumulated 88 hours of flight time.
Her passion for aviation began years earlier. Her father started flying recreationally in 2018 and helped introduce her to aviation. Nathalia began ground school in 2020, while still a teenager.
Her public-school aviation program helped fund her flight training.
American Flyers, the flight school she attended, publicly celebrated her accomplishments on its own social media account before this tragedy.
She continued advancing her aviation qualifications, reportedly earning commercial, multi-engine, instrument, and flight-instructor credentials. She also shared that her boyfriend was pursuing aviation, and that they had achieved an extraordinary amount before turning 21.
She dreamed of flying commercially.
The aircraft, identified as Learjet 60 registration N722BD, was traveling from Austin, Texas, to North Eleuthera in the Bahamas.
Flight-tracking reports indicate that the aircraft had arrived in Austin from Little Rock, Arkansas, the day before the crash.
During the final flight, the crew reported icing, turbulence, and precipitation before requesting a higher altitude.
Flight-tracking data reportedly showed the aircraft losing approximately 26,500 feet of altitude in roughly two minutes, with an extraordinary descent rate recorded during its final moments.
