Florida jet crash passengers and co-pilot identified as investigators hunt for clues

David Fischer

November 3, 2026 — 9:07am

West Palm Beach, Florida: A pilot of the Bahamas-bound private jet that nosedived into a South Florida neighbourhood has been identified, as investigators said parts of the aircraft appear to have broken off before the fatal crash.

The Learjet 60 jet began its journey at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas. All nine people on board the private aircraft died in the crash; authorities have not yet released their names.

However, Camila Corteleti told the New York Post and the New York Times that her daughter, 20-year-old Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, was one of the pilots. She earned her pilot’s licence in 2023 while a 17-year-old senior at West Boca Raton Community High School in Florida, local news reports said at the time.

Her pilot’s licence showed she had the rating to fly that model of Learjet, but not to be in command of the flight. Her father, Allan Filgueiras, told the Associated Press he wasn’t prepared to speak about the crash.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office declined to discuss the death investigation, saying it is still in the early stages.

Video recorded by passersby captured the terrifying moment on Sunday afternoon as the aircraft plunged from the sky before slamming into the ground and exploding in Greenacres, about 11 kilometres south-west of West Palm Beach.

Flames flickered around chunks of pavement lining the crater as shocked residents looked on in horror. Thick black smoke engulfed the crash site.

“Debris was everywhere. Debris hit my house. Everything was on fire. The road was on fire,” Anthony Blackmon, who lives near the crash site, told NBC affiliate WTVJ. “I’ve always seen it on the news, never thought it would happen so close to somebody like how it happened today.”

National Transportation Safety Board member Tom Chapman said during a news conference on Monday (US time) that the aircraft appeared to break up prior to crashing.

“We do have some indication that the aircraft was breaking up before impact,” Chapman said. “We may find parts of the aircraft some distance away from the actual impact site.”

The plane was heading east at 35,000 feet (11,000 metres) when the pilots reported problems with turbulence and ice.

One pilot said ice was accumulating on the jet and that turbulence was jolting it by as much as 700 feet (213 metres), according to air traffic control recordings captured by LiveATC.net. Rain pounded the region on Sunday.

“We have light, clear ice that is manageable and moderate turbulence,” the pilot told controllers.

However, the situation rapidly deteriorated. The pilot requested permission to climb another 2000 feet (about 610 metres) and then quickly declared an emergency as the jet lost altitude at an alarming rate.

“We’re descending 8000 [feet] – mayday, mayday – we’re descending 10,000 feet per minute,” she radioed. “We are in an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute.”

Moments later, the pilot said: “We’re going to crash into the ground.”

Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel G. Flores said at the news conference he did not know when residents living near the crash site would be able to return home.

There were around 77 mobile homes in the area and residents of those homes were evacuated to a shelter, Flores said.

“Our concern right now is clearing the scene so that our residents can get back to normal,” Flores said.

“We don’t really have a timeline as to when they are going to be able to comb through all the evidence and do everything they need to do, and that leaves our community looking for answers.”

Palm Beach County Mayor Sara Baxter asked for sympathy for the crash victims.

“Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers,” she said.

AP

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