Family identifies 20-year-old co-pilot among nine killed in Florida Learjet crash

AUSTIN - A 20-year-old co-pilot who earned her pilot’s license while still in high school was identified by her family as one of the nine people killed when a private jet crashed and burst into flames in South Florida on Sunday, according to reports.

Florida jet crash

Timeline:

Federal investigators are probing an in-flight breakup of a plane carrying nine people that crashed Sunday afternoon, scattering debris across a 1.2-mile area of Palm Beach County.

The flight departed Austin, Texas, for the Bahamas at 10:37 a.m. At 12:47 p.m., the crew reported icing and turbulence before requesting a climb to 55,000 feet. Less than 30 seconds later, the aircraft entered a rapid descent and issued a Mayday call.

National Transportation Safety Board investigator Timothy Monville said preliminary evidence indicates the plane broke up before impact, with icing under investigation as a factor.

The crash forced the evacuation of hundreds of residents from 77 nearby mobile homes and injured a man on the ground. Mayor Sara Baxter declared a county emergency.

The NTSB urges witnesses with photos or video to email witness@ntsb.gov and cautions the public not to disturb debris.

Who was on the plane that crashed in Florida?

According to the National Transportation Safety Board, there were two flight crew and seven passengers on the plane.

The twin-engine business jet was en route from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas when it suddenly went into a steep nosedive. Flight-tracking data indicated the aircraft was descending at a rate exceeding 20,000 feet per minute before impact.

Chilling air traffic control audio captured the final moments before the plane slammed into the ground near Military Trail, erupting into a massive fireball upon impact. All nine people aboard were killed.

Florida plane crash: Co-pilot identified

What we know:

Nathalia Gadelha was co-piloting the Learjet 60 when it plummeted into a neighborhood near a mobile home park in Palm Beach County, her mother and stepfather told the New York Post. TMZ was among the outlets reporting on her family's identification of Gadelha as one of the victims.

Gadelha began flight lessons in 2020 under the guidance of her father and earned her private pilot’s license at age 17 while attending West Boca Raton High School. Her training was funded through the school district’s Aviation Academy, and she later graduated from the American Flyers flight school as she pursued a career as a commercial airline pilot.

In a 2023 interview, Gadelha revealed she had already logged 88 hours in the air and had gone on to earn multiple aviation qualifications alongside her boyfriend before turning 21.

What's next:

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the crash. NTSB Member Tom Chapman is scheduled to brief the media Monday at 1 p.m. EST from the Emergency Operations Center in West Palm Beach to detail the investigative process and planned on-scene activities in the coming days.

Official identities for the remaining victims have not yet been released by authorities.