In a neighborhood of palm-tree-lined streets and houses with perfectly manicured lawns, friends and relatives of Nathalia Filgueiras arrived at her family home to mourn the 20-year-old co-pilot who a day ago plummeted to her death in Florida aboard a Learjet 60 jet alongside eight other victims.
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who → line → victims
Filgueiras’ mother, Camila Corteleti; her older sister, Giulia Filgueiras; her stepfather, Thiago Corteleti; and her younger sister all gathered in the dining room.
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mother → gather → room
With eyes swollen from crying, they wore black and white as they waited to hear from authorities about her remains.
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they → swell → remains
Nicole Tarantino, 21, stopped by Monday to pay her respects to the family after waking up that morning to the news that her friend died in the plane crash.
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friend → stop → crash
She and Filgueiras had known each other since they were in elementary school.
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they → know → school
“She was a beautiful person inside and out,” Tarantino told NBC News.
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Tarantino → tell → News
Heartbroken and in tears, she said her friend always knew she wanted to be a pilot.
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she → say → tears
“When it came to picking colleges, she was looking at aviation schools,” Tarantino said.
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Tarantino → come → schools
She was only 20 years old doing all of that, and she excelled at it.”
Growing up in a Brazilian household in Boca Raton, Florida, Filgueiras was inspired by her father, Allan Filgueiras, who is also a pilot.
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who → do → father
He was the one who taught her how to fly planes before she went on to earn her pilot license while still in high school.
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she → teach → school
Filgueiras got her license in 2023, when she was a 17-year-old senior at West Boca Raton Community High School.
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she → get → School
At the time, WPEC, a news station in South Florida, reported that the Palm Beach County School District paid for Filgueiras to get her private pilot license through the school’s aviation academy.
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Filgueiras → report → academy
“Flying was her biggest passion,” Giulia Filgueiras told NBC News about her younger sister.
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Filgueiras → tell → sister
“That was her dream, to become a pilot, since she was very young.”
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she → become → ?
Nathalia Filgueiras’ last words echoed through a distressing air traffic control call Sunday.
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words → echo → call
We’re descending 10,000 feet per minute,” she alerted.
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she → descend → minute
“We’re gonna crash into the ground, 722 Bravo Delta,” she can be heard saying, followed by a scream.
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she → go → scream
After learning of her death, Allan Filgueiras told NBC News that his daughter was a first officer, better known as the right-seat, second-in-command co-pilot who helps navigate and operate a flight alongside a captain.
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who → learn → captain
Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board said at a news conference Monday that they are still working to determine what caused the plane to crash in a neighborhood in Palm Beach County.
Tom Chapman, an NTSB member, said the Learjet 60 jet that Filgueiras was co-piloting left Texas around 10:30 a.m. ET en route to the Bahamas.
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Filgueiras → say → Bahamas
At 12:47 p.m. ET, the plane reported experiencing moderate turbulence after encountering “clear ice” 35,000 feet in the air.
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plane → report → air
The pilots sent a request to move to 37,000 feet, which was granted, Chapman said.
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Chapman → send → feet
Thirty seconds later, the plane began to descend until it crashed.
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it → begin → ?
At the news conference, NTSB investigators and local officials called on any witnesses who may have captured the crash on video to come forward and help with the investigation.
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who → call → investigation
Those close to Filgueiras are choosing to remember the young woman for her determination in chasing her dreams.
“She was a light, and she did what she loved,” Tarantino said.
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Tarantino → choose → what
Erika Angulo reported from Boca Raton, Florida, and Nicole Acevedo from New York City.
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Angulo → report → City