Updated Monday, Nov. 2, 2026
[PHOTO] Dashcam video captures the fireball as a Learjet 60 crashes near Military Trail in Greenacres, Fla., on Sunday. (Credit: )
GREENACRES, Fla. — A 20-year-old Boca Raton woman who earned her pilot’s license while still in high school has been identified as the co-pilot of the business jet that nose-dived into a Palm Beach County neighborhood Sunday. All nine people on board were killed.
Her family identified her as Nathalia Gadelha, 20, who also went by Nathalia Filgueiras. Her mother and stepfather confirmed to the New York Post that she was aboard the Learjet 60. Authorities have not released the names of the pilot or the other seven people on board.
A young pilot
Gadelha grew up in Palm Beach County and started ground school in 2020, inspired by her father, who took up recreational flying in 2018. She earned her private pilot’s license in September 2023, at 17, before she even had a driver’s license. She was a student at West Boca Raton High School at the time, and the School District of Palm Beach County’s Aviation Academy paid for her training. She had logged 88 flight hours by then.
She went on to graduate from American Flyers flight school and was working toward a career as a commercial airline pilot.
Final moments: icing, turbulence and a Mayday
The jet, tail number N722BD, took off from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas, bound for North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas. It crashed around 12:50 p.m. Sunday on South Military Trail between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North.
According to air traffic control audio, a crew member reported “light, clear ice that is manageable and moderate turbulence” and asked to climb higher. The crew then said the plane had jolted up about 700 feet, declared a Mayday and reported an overspeed condition. In the final transmission, someone aboard told controllers, “We’re going to crash into the ground.” The speaker has not been identified.
The FAA said the jet dropped from 35,250 feet to 8,750 feet in just over a minute, falling at more than 20,000 feet per minute. Scattered thunderstorms were in the area, and the plane had flown through a stronger storm cell minutes before the emergency. Investigators have not said whether weather played a role.
No injuries on the ground; hundreds displaced
County officials said no one on the ground was hurt. Debris struck a house about 500 feet from the impact site, and fire spread along the roadway.
About 600 residents of a nearby mobile home community were evacuated, many to a shelter at the Greenacres Community Center, 501 Swain Blvd. Some were allowed home Sunday evening. Many still don’t know when they can return, even to collect their belongings, and some homes lost power.
Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel Flores described “a massive crater on Military” and said the southbound lanes could stay closed for weeks. John I. Leonard High School is closed Monday and Tuesday.
Investigation
The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation with help from the FAA. NTSB Member Tom Chapman is scheduled to brief reporters at 1 p.m. Monday at the Palm Beach County Emergency Operations Center in West Palm Beach. He is expected to outline the investigation process and the work at the scene, not a cause.
The NTSB typically releases a preliminary report within about 30 days. A final finding on the probable cause usually takes a year or more.
The crash recalls the January 2025 crash of a Learjet 55 medical jet in Northeast Philadelphia, which killed everyone aboard and at least one person on the ground.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
