Photo via Fox News

Copilot killed in fiery Florida Learjet crash identified as 20-year-old who learned to fly before driving

Read the original at Fox News ↗
Cite

Sorace, S. (2026, November 2). Copilot killed in fiery Florida Learjet crash identified as 20-year-old who learned to fly before driving. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/us/co-pilot-killed-fiery-florida-learjet-crash-identified-20-year-old-learned-fly-before-driving

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

Fox News · collected 2026-11-02 · by Stephen Sorace

Quick Summary

The copilot of a Learjet 60 that crashed in Palm Beach County, Florida, killing all nine aboard, was identified as Nathalia Gadelha, a 20-year-old who earned her private pilot's license at 17. Gadelha had accumulated 88 hours of flight time and was pursuing commercial aviation certifications. The plane, en route from Texas to the Bahamas, reportedly experienced ice accumulation and turbulence before crashing near Cresthaven on Sunday afternoon around 12:50 p.m., as reported by air traffic control recordings.
Written by AI on 2026-11-02, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

A Learjet 60 carrying nine people crashed near homes in Palm Beach County, Florida, around 12:50 p.m. local time on Sunday, November 1, 2026, erupting into a massive fireball just miles from Mar-a-Lago and eight miles from Greenacres. The jet had departed from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas bound for the Bahamas. All nine people aboard were killed in the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating and officials suggest there may have been "some breakup" of the aircraft before it crashed, with debris spanning a significant distance.

The victims include tech entrepreneur Adam Robinson and his family members along with their nanny and two close friends. The crash displaced approximately 600 people from their homes in the area.

Written for “Florida Learjet Crash Investigation” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 72 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Florida Learjet Crash Investigation
Crime & Law · 73 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 26% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 17 claims Outlet record 66/100
The Independent
Hedges 1 of 4 claims Outlet record 59/100
Washington Examiner
Hedges 1 of 2 claims Outlet record 70/100
The Independent
Hedges 1 of 11 claims Outlet record 59/100
The Straits Times
Hedges 0 of 19 claims Outlet record 66/100
Dawn
Hedges 0 of 19 claims Outlet record 72/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
23
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
26%
6 of 23 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
69/100
Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
73
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-02 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Fox News · 6337 article(s) · 11 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 11 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Stephen Sorace
26 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 We may find parts of the aircraft some distance away from the actual impact site."
🔮 "We're descending 8,000 — mayday, mayday — we're descending 10,000 feet per minute," a pilot radioed, according to the AP.
🔮 Don Levy, executive director of the Siena Research Institute, said the results suggest Democrats could capture control of the Senate, though he cautioned that several races remain within the poll's margin of error. "While a blue wave and Democratic control of the Senate is, according to our polls, a distinct possibility, with so many races within the poll's total margin of error, a Senate majority for either party remains possible," Levy said.
🔮 Fellow opposition leader Edmundo González, who ran for president in 2024 after Machado was barred from seeking office, confirmed her arrival on social media and said he would join her "very soon." "Today is a very important day for Venezuelans.
🔮 "This number of patients would overwhelm the city of Edmonton," Dr. Warren Thirsk, an emergency department physician at Royal Alexandra Hospital, told CBC News.
🔮 Doctors are conducting further testing on the tumor and surrounding lymph nodes to determine the extent of the disease and whether additional treatment, including chemotherapy, immunotherapy or targeted therapy, may be necessary.
🔮 President Donald Trump announced that the planned firing squad execution of convicted Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan will not be livestreamed, reversing an earlier Pentagon announcement that the public would be able to watch the convicted mass killer's final moments.
🔮 Investigators are now working to determine what communications took place between the aircraft and a nearby air traffic control tower before the crash, as well as whether weather conditions in the area may have played a role.
🔮 One protester could be heard shouting, "You love Trump and you will not stand up for Minnesotans," as Demuth stood on stage holding a microphone.
🔮 The delay allows Palestinian leaders to remain in power without facing voters and could further damage the credibility of the Palestinian Authority, which has faced criticism over corruption and its security cooperation with Israel. The Palestinian Authority, dominated by Abbas' Fatah party, governs parts of the West Bank under agreements reached in the 1990s.
Also by Stephen Sorace
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 26 articles by Stephen Sorace →

Topics

Bahamas CBS12 Florida Palm Beach County Texas

Subjects

Florida GPE · 3× Gadelha PERSON · 3× Texas GPE · 3× Bahamas GPE · 2× CBS12 ORG · 2× Palm Beach County GPE · 2× Post ORG · 2× Nathalia Gadelha's PERSON · 1× West Boca Raton High School GPE · 1× the New York Post ORG · 1×

Narrative

Nathalia Gadelha's mother and stepfather confirmed to the New York Post that she was the copilot aboard the Learjet 60 that plummeted into a residential area in Palm Beach County while traveling from Texas to the Bahamas.
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-02
🔮 "We're descending 8,000 — mayday, mayday — we're descending 10,000 feet per minute," a pilot radioed, according to the AP.

Claims (23 extracted, 6 hedged)

The copilot aboard a private jet that crashed into a South Florida neighborhood Sunday, killing all nine people on board, has been identified as a 20-year-old aspiring airline pilot who earned her wings before getting her driver's license, according to a report. uncertain
who → crash → report
Nathalia Gadelha's mother and stepfather confirmed to the New York Post that she was the copilot aboard the Learjet 60 that plummeted into a residential area in Palm Beach County while traveling from Texas to the Bahamas. asserted
that → confirm → Bahamas
Gadelha, who grew up in Palm Beach County, made headlines in 2023 when she earned her private pilot's license at just 17 years old while attending West Boca Raton High School. asserted
she → grow → School
"I definitely do brag because people say, 'Oh, you can't drive,' and I'm like, 'Yeah, but I can fly,'" she told local station CBS12 at the time. asserted
she → brag → time
Gadelha began taking flying lessons in 2020 and received additional instruction from her father, who had learned to fly recreationally in 2018, the outlet reported at the time. asserted
outlet → begin → time
The 2023 news report detailed how she accumulated 88 hours of flight time while pursuing her private pilot's license, which was funded through the School District of Palm Beach County's Aviation Academy. asserted
which → detail → Academy
The young aviator later graduated from American Flyers, a flight school based in Addison, Texas, with a location in Pompano Beach, Florida, according to the Post. uncertain
aviator → graduate → Post
Gadelha told CBS12 that she hoped to become a commercial airline pilot. asserted
she → tell → CBS12
In a recent social media post cited by the Post, she shared a video of herself flying with her boyfriend, Justin, highlighting their aviation accomplishments at such young ages. asserted
herself → cite → ages
"How often do you see 2 pilots under 21 with a commercial, multi-engine, instrument, CFI/CFI-I," she wrote, referring to several aviation certifications and instructor ratings. asserted
she → see → certifications
The Learjet 60 departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was headed to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas when it crashed near Cresthaven, Florida, around 12:50 p.m. Sunday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. uncertain
it → depart → Administration
All nine people aboard the aircraft were killed, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed Sunday afternoon. asserted
Duffy → kill → aircraft
Air traffic control recordings captured by LiveATC.net revealed that the flight crew reported ice accumulation and turbulence before the aircraft began rapidly losing altitude, according to The Associated Press. uncertain
aircraft → capture → Press
"We have light, clear ice that is manageable and moderate turbulence," a pilot told controllers. asserted
pilot → have → controllers
The crew subsequently requested permission to climb another 2,000 feet before declaring an emergency as the aircraft plunged toward the ground. asserted
aircraft → request → ground
"We're descending 8,000 — mayday, mayday — we're descending 10,000 feet per minute," a pilot radioed, according to the AP. uncertain
pilot → descend → AP
"We are in an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute," the pilot continued, before warning, "We're going to crash into the ground." asserted
We → descend → ground
Dashcam footage captured the jet plunging nose-first into the neighborhood, as Fox News Digital previously reported. asserted
Digital → capture → neighborhood
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis described the crash as "cataclysmic." asserted
DeSantis → describe → crash
The crash also forced the evacuation of approximately 600 people from a nearby mobile home community, according to local officials. uncertain
crash → force → officials
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash. asserted
FAA → investigate → crash
The cause has not been determined, and NTSB officials are expected to provide an update Monday. asserted
officials → determine → update
Fox News Digital’s Emma Bussey contributed to this report. asserted
Bussey → contribute → report
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support