Co-pilot's friend describes hearing audio of her last moments
The co-pilot, 20-year-old Nathalia Filgueiras, can be heard saying in the audio recordings that the jet was rapidly descending.
Key points
- A Learjet 60 crashed in Palm Beach County, Florida, on Sunday, killing all nine people on board.
- Co-pilot Nathalia Filgueiras, 20, reported descending at up to 20,000 feet per minute in mayday calls.
- Investigators are examining icing, thunderstorms and a possible horizontal stabilizer failure as causes.
A Learjet 60 flying from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas crashed in Palm Beach County, Florida, on Sunday, killing all nine people on board. The co-pilot, 20-year-old Nathalia Filgueiras, and the captain, 55-year-old Jeffrey Gregory, were among the dead.
Air traffic control audio captured Filgueiras reporting that the jet was descending rapidly. In one message she said, "we're descending 10,000 ft per minute," and later reported an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute.
Friend recalls final audio
Mikaela Schluth, who knew Filgueiras since middle school, said hearing the audio was "definitely, probably the worst thing I've ever heard." She said she was proud of how her friend stayed calm and gave information up until the last minute.
was definitely, probably the worst thing I've ever heard
— Mikaela Schluth
Passengers and investigation
The passengers who died were identified as Adam Robinson and Helen Sharp, a couple from Austin, and their children Emma, 4, and Charlie, 2, along with Rachael Reed, Charmi Fehr and Anita Maria Cetina. In a joint statement, their families said Adam and Helen were devoted parents and that Charmi and Rachel were full of joy and adventure.
Investigators are looking at whether the pilots understood a storm they were approaching and whether the plane's horizontal stabilizer broke off. Weather data shows the aircraft entered a rapidly intensifying thunderstorm cell shortly before the pilots reported icing and significant turbulence. Former NTSB chair Robert Sumwalt said the two scenarios in his mind are both atmospherically related: icing, and thunderstorms and turbulence. NTSB investigator in charge Timothy Monville said recovering the major wreckage from the crater on the roadway will be the biggest obstacle, and recovering the cockpit voice recorder is a priority.
