The co-pilot of a private Learjet 60 that crashed into a residential area of Florida on Sunday, killing all nine people on board, has been identified as 20-year-old Nathalia Gadelha, a young aviation enthusiast who had earned her pilot’s licence while still at school.

Gadelha, who dreamed of becoming a commercial airline pilot, is believed to be the woman heard desperately calling for help in air traffic control recordings moments before the aircraft plunged to the ground.

Her story had attracted local media attention as early as October 2023, when she became a licensed private pilot at just 17, before she had even obtained a licence to drive a car.

Her identity was confirmed to the New York Post by her mother, Camila, and her stepfather.

The young aviator was in the cockpit of the Learjet 60, travelling from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas, when the aircraft entered a catastrophic descent over Palm Beach County.

Flight data indicated that the jet was losing altitude at more than 20,000 feet per minute before crashing and bursting into flames.

Audio recordings of the crew’s final exchanges with air traffic controllers capture increasingly desperate pleas for assistance in the seconds leading up to the disaster.

She became a pilot at 17, before learning to drive

Gadelha had grown up in Palm Beach County and attended West Boca Raton High School, where her passion for aviation developed at an early age.

In October 2023, she appeared in a report by local television station CBS12 after obtaining her private pilot’s licence, an achievement made all the more unusual by the fact that she was not yet legally licensed to drive a car.

‘I’m definitely proud of that because when people say, “But you can’t drive”, I tell them, “Yes, but I can fly”,’ she said with a laugh during the interview.

She had begun taking flying lessons in 2020, inspired partly by her father, who started learning to fly in 2018 as a hobby.

After completing her theoretical training, she began flying regularly, accumulating 88 flight hours and successfully passing the examinations required to obtain her licence.

The cost of her pilot training had been covered by the Palm Beach County School District’s Aviation Academy as part of an educational programme launched in 2023.

🚨Tragic Turn in Palm Beach County Learjet Crash: 20 Year Old Co Pilot Identified The co pilot aboard the Learjet 60 that tragically crashed in Palm Beach County, Florida, resulting in nine fatalities, has been identified as 20 year old local aviator Nathalia Gadelha. ​Gadelha, who grew up in Palm Beach County, made headlines back in October 2023 when she earned her private pilot’s license at just 17 years old famously achieving her wings before she even had a driver’s license. ​Her mother and stepfather confirmed to the New York Post that she was in the cockpit flying the aircraft from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas when it entered a catastrophic nosedive dropping at over 20,000 feet per minute before crashing near Military Trail. Harrowing air traffic control audio captured the final moments of the flight as the crew fought desperately to manage the aircraft. ​Our thoughts are with the families and loved ones of all nine souls lost in this devastating accident. ​#AviationNews #PalmBeach #BreakingNews #FloridaCrash #NathaliaGadelha #PublicSafety

— Amy Leigh (@IAmyLeigh) November 2, 2026

‘Some people think it’s strange that I can fly but not drive’

Speaking enthusiastically about her unusual achievement, Gadelha explained that she enjoyed having opportunities that set her apart from other teenagers.

‘I like being different from other people. To me, it’s really cool because it’s not an opportunity that comes around very often,’ she said.

She also laughed about the fact that she had learnt to operate an aircraft before getting behind the wheel of a car.

‘I just didn’t get my driving licence, and that’s how things turned out. I think it’s really cool, though. Some people think it’s weird that I can fly planes but can’t drive a car. I mean, I can drive, but a lot of people find it funny. I find it funny too, although now I really want to get my driving licence,’ she explained.

Her ambition was to pursue a professional aviation career and eventually fly passenger aircraft for a commercial airline.

As her training progressed, she graduated from American Flyers, a flight training organisation based in Addison, Texas, with a branch in Pompano Beach, Florida.

Aviation was also an important part of her family life. Her mother regularly shared photographs on social media of family flights aboard private aircraft.

🎧 AUDIO: N722BD with Miami Center in the final minutes before the Learjet 60 went down in Greenacres, FL. It starts like routine radio traffic: ATC passes along rides ahead and the temperature, and gives the crew altitude at their discretion. The crew reports descending and says they’re direct Freeport. Then the weather comes up. The crew says they’re managing turbulence and picking up precipitation. Soon after, the transmissions change: they declare an emergency and say “we are banking.” Near the end, you hear “descending ten thousand” and ATC repeating the callsign, “November seven two two bravo delta.” Flightradar24 data shows the jet falling at more than 32,000 ft/min from 8,750 ft. Nine people were aboard. 🎧liveatc

— Aviation Reporter (@TripppleSeven7) November 1, 2026

The final flight: A sudden descent over a residential area

The fatal crash occurred on Sunday afternoon, 1 November, when the Learjet 60, flying from Texas towards the Bahamas, suddenly began losing altitude above Greenacres in Palm Beach County.

Before the crash, the crew had been communicating with air traffic controllers about difficult weather conditions, including turbulence, rainfall and ice formation.

The aircraft had been flying at approximately 35,000 feet, or 10,670 metres, when the crew requested permission to climb another 2,000 feet.

Initially, the female crew member described the conditions as manageable, reporting ‘moderate turbulence’ and ‘light icing’.

Within moments, however, the situation deteriorated dramatically.

‘We’re descending at 8,000 feet per minute. Mayday, mayday, we’re losing 10,000 feet per minute,’ she can be heard shouting in the recording.

The aircraft then entered an increasingly steep dive, accelerating beyond its safe operating speed.

‘We’ve exceeded our speed limits, we’re descending at 20,000 feet per minute,’ the woman continued, her voice reflecting the escalating emergency.

The next transmission suggested that the crew understood the severity of the situation.

‘We’re going to crash into the ground,’ she said, before letting out a scream.

On the other end of the radio, an air traffic controller tried to maintain contact.

‘I’m right here with you. Talk to me,’ he told her.

The final response from the cockpit was even more distressing.

‘We’re descending at 22,000 feet, we’re banking at 60 degrees… Look outside.’

Then came the final words:

‘Fuck, we don’t have any more time.’

Approximately 35 seconds after the first emergency call, communication ceased and the aircraft struck the ground.

WATCH: Dashcam video captures the crash of a $2 million Learjet 60 (N722BD) in Palm Springs, Florida. https://t.co/8jmiOMG9ys

— Scope Report (@ScopeReport_) November 1, 2026

Jet plunged almost vertically before exploding

Video footage of the disaster shows the Learjet entering an almost vertical dive before hitting the ground at enormous speed near a main road in Greenacres, only metres from passing vehicles.

The impact triggered a massive fireball, leaving a large crater and scattering wreckage over a wide area.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis compared the scene to a missile strike.

‘It looked like a missile coming down,’ he said, describing the destruction.

Dashcam footage captured the aircraft’s final moments, while images from the crash site showed a large crater in the road and debris scattered across the surrounding area.

All nine people aboard the aircraft were killed.

Investigators examine weather conditions and possible icing

American aviation authorities are investigating what caused the aircraft to enter its uncontrolled descent.

Among the factors being examined are the weather conditions at the time of the flight, including the crew’s reports of turbulence, rain and ice accumulation.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is involved in determining the circumstances of the disaster, although no definitive conclusion has yet been announced.

The tragedy has brought renewed attention to Gadelha’s remarkable early achievements and the ambitions she had spoken about so enthusiastically just three years earlier.

At 17, she had proudly explained that she could fly an aircraft despite not having a driving licence. At 20, she was in the cockpit of a business jet, pursuing the aviation career she had dreamed of since childhood.