Dad of 20-year-old co-pilot in Florida Learjet crash says final radio calls showed 'she's tough'
Family held news conference to push back against online criticism over her age, experience
The father of the 20-year-old co-pilot who died along with eight others when their Learjet crashed in Florida said Friday he has listened to his daughter's heartbreaking final radio transmissions "many times" since the crash.
asserted
he → say → crash
Allan Filgueiras, himself a pilot, was searching for answers as to why the plane plunged from the sky on Sunday — but what he found was immense pride in how his daughter, Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, handled the crisis.
asserted
daughter → search → crisis
"I did listen to that many times trying to find a clue.
asserted
I → listen → clue
How'd that happen?
asserted
that → happen → ?
And wow, she's tough," Allan Filgueiras said at a news conference Friday, frequently holding back tears.
asserted
Filgueiras → say → tears
In her final conversation with air traffic control, she can be heard calmly reporting ice buildup on the plane as the Learjet flew into a thunderstorm and turbulence tossed it up and down by 200 metres.
asserted
turbulence → hear → metres
The situation quickly escalated as the aircraft fell at breathtaking speed.
asserted
aircraft → escalate → speed
We are in an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute!" she said.
asserted
she → descend → minute
Her father and aviation safety experts have been impressed that Filgueiras continued to call out updates on what was happening even as she realized the plane's fate was sealed.
asserted
fate → continue → updates
"For the family — it's like having the heart torn from my chest," her father said in Spanish.
asserted
father → have → Spanish
"I have to find a way to go on living."
asserted
I → have → way
The family wants to push back against online criticism over whether she had enough experience to be in the cockpit of a Learjet.
asserted
she → want → Learjet
She had more than 1,300 hours of experience and completed extensive training to earn her commercial pilot's licence.
asserted
She → have → licence
So her father held Friday's news conference, which his lawyer said was designed to "preserve not just her memory, but her reputation.
asserted
lawyer → hold → memory
"
"She was at the top of her class in everything that she did, and she was perfectly qualified to be the co-pilot on this flight, despite her tender years," attorney Stuart Grossman said, noting there were no immediate plans to file a lawsuit over the crash.
asserted
Grossman → do → crash
It's far too early in the National Transportation Safety Board's investigation to know what caused the crash.
asserted
what → know → crash
As it fell, the Learjet accelerated beyond its design limits and pieces of the plane's tail were found kilometres away from the crash site.
asserted
pieces → fall → site
Retired airline pilot John Cox, who is now the CEO of Safety Operating Systems, said he started out flying professionally at age 19, meaning he was in the same situation as Filgueiras when he started his career.
asserted
he → say → career
He said she was doing quite well to earn the co-pilot's seat she had.
asserted
she → say → seat
"To be in the right seat of a Lear 60, she had to impress somebody, because that's a good ride.
asserted
that → have → somebody
I mean, that's great.
asserted
that → mean → ?
I know she loved it," Cox said.
asserted
Cox → know → it
Her father believes she held up in the midst of a crisis better than most.
asserted
she → believe → most
"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.
asserted
they → show → boys
And she was the one over there to the last minute fighting," Allan Filgueiras said.
asserted
Filgueiras → say → fighting
The victims included technology entrepreneur Adam Robinson; his wife, Helen Sharp; and their two young children, relatives said.
asserted
relatives → include → Robinson
The family's nanny, Ana María Ramírez Cetina, was also killed.
asserted
nanny → kill → ?
The plane's captain, who was pilot in command as the plane fell, was 55-year-old Jeff Gregory.
asserted
plane → fall → command
The Aporia
