Father of Learjet Co-Pilot, 20, Wishes He Could Have Been 'by Her Side' to 'Help' Before Tragic Plane Crash
Allan Filgueiras spoke out on his 20-year-old daughter's death following a LearJet 60 crash.
Nov. 9 2026, Updated 1:50 p.m. ET
The father of Nathalia Filgueiras, the copilot of the Learjet that crashed in Florida last weekend, is speaking out about his grief and love for his daughter, RadarOnline.com can report.
"She was gifted and my soulmate," Allan Filgueiras said at a news conference on Friday, November 6.
Allan's Daughter Grew Up Flying With Him
Allan got emotional at a press conference November 6 meant to honor his daughter's memory.
A pilot himself, Allan's lawyer Stuart Grossman said he was the reason why his daughter flew. "From the time she was 12 years old … Allan would take her up, and she fell in love with flying," he said.
His lawyers told the press to focus on Nathalia instead of announcing legal action or making further accusations. The 20-year-old was one of nine people who died when the jet plummeted to the ground on Sunday, November 1, in Palm Beach County.
"The purpose of this is to preserve not just her memory, but her reputation," Grossman said.
Nathalia Got Her Private Pilot's License At 17
Nathalia earned her pilot's license at School District of Palm Beach County's Aviation Academy.
Nathalia earned her pilot's license before her driver's license in 2023 at age 17, starting Ground School in 2020. The Palm Beach County School District paid for her to get her Private Pilot's License with their Aviation Academy. She told The National News Desk that her dream was to become a commercial airline pilot or fly jets.
"I definitely do brag because people say, ‘oh you can’t drive,' and I’m like, 'yeah but I can fly,’" she said in October 2023.
Nathalia had logged 88 flight hours at the time, with her family more recently saying she had over 1,300 hours before her death.
"Nathalia was beyond an average pilot. She was extraordinary," Grossman said Friday. "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."
He offered condolences to all the victims and their loved ones, noting that they share the suffering with them.
Allan Recalls Listening to His Daughter's Final Audio
Allan commended Nathalia for staying strong until the last moment.
Allan became visibly overwhelmed with emotion during the brief conference. When asked what he would say if he could give his daughter a final message, he said he wished he could have been there with her.
"I wanted to be by her side, inside her plane, to help … I had to be next to her," he explained.
He also recalled how much his daughter had reveled in being able to fly as a job.
"She said, ‘Dad, can you believe – can you believe that I would pay for this, but they’re actually paying me? You know, I would pay for this, but I’m actually getting paid.’ So it was her happiest moment to fly," he recalled.
Allan told the press he listened to Nathalia's final moments speaking to the air traffic controller, "trying to find a clue" about what had happened.
Despite the tragedy and breaths of panic in her voice, her father said she made him proud.
"She showed me what it is to be a hero, because once you see death coming, a lot of the big boys, military or whatever, they can’t handle," he said. "And she was the one over there, to the last minute, fighting."
A Family Also Passed in the Crash
Never Miss an
Daily updates from the heart of Hollywood, right to your inbox
By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you’re agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
The passengers included a family, their two friends and their nanny.
In the audio, Nathalia can be heard calmly reporting ice buildup while flying in a thunderstorm, with turbulence bringing it up and down 700 feet. But the issue quickly escalated, with her reporting, "Declare an emergency 722-Bravo-Delta. We are in an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute!"
Her audible panic can be heard, despite still clearly communicating with the controller up until the last second.
"We’re gonna crash into the ground," she said at the time. "We are descending at 22,000 feet, and we are banking 60 degrees."
The accident also killed a family of four, their nanny, and two friends, as well as Nathalia's senior pilot, Jeff Gregory. The plane was headed from Texas to the Bahamas when it encountered a storm.
The plane nearly disintegrated on impact.
The cause of the crash is unclear. Authorities continue to investigate the incident.
