Father of 20-year-old co-pilot killed in Florida plane crash speaks out for first time after daughter’s death
The father of Nathalia Filgueiras has told of how 'proud' his late daughter made him following her death in last week's horror plane crash.
She was second-in-command on the private jet and frantically issued a mayday call in her final moments, warning air traffic control that they were 'going to crash into the ground'.
Allan Filgueiras revealed he has listened to the heartbreaking audio 'many times' in the hopes of finding 'a clue' as to what unfolded.
The dad said, as per NBC News: "She made me so proud. She showed me what it is to be a hero."
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Allan, who is also a pilot, broke his silence for the first time at a news conference on Friday.
"When we were flying together, I used to instruct her. And then, she became my instructor. She was gifted, and my soulmate."
He described how he was stunned by his daughter's resilience in her final moments, saying of the audio: "I did listen to that many times trying to find a clue. In my head. How'd that happen? And wow, she's tough.
"She showed me what it is to be a hero because once you see that coming, a lot of the big boys - military or whatever - they can't handle. And she was the one over there to the last minute fighting."
The family's attorney Stuart Grossman said Nathalia was an 'extraordinary pilot', while also paying tribute to the eight other victims of the devastating incident that took place last Sunday.
"The purpose of this is to preserve not just her memory but her reputation,” he said. “Nathalia was beyond an average pilot; she was extraordinary.”
The Learjet 60 was also carrying tech tycoon Adam Robinson, his wife Helen Sharp, and their two young children Emma, four, and Charlie, two, who were heading to the Bahamas from Texas.
The children's nanny Anita Maria Cetina and another couple, Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr, were also onboard.
It comes days after one of the first instructors to take Filgueiras under his wing, Chris Kirk, paid tribute to Nathalia and insisted she was 'born to fly'.
"She was without a doubt the most naturally gifted pilot I have ever taught, and I have been teaching for 40 years," he said in a social media post shared on Wednesday. "That young lady was born to fly!
"There was not a check ride that the examiner was not blown away!"
More to follow.
Olivia Burke
