See more Toronto Sun on Google — save as a Preferred Source
Allan Filgueiras is speaking out five days after his daughter, Nathalia Filgueiras, the co-pilot of a Florida Learjet that crashed , died along with eight others.
The grieving father mourned his “soulmate” as he described repeatedly listening to the haunting air traffic control recording that captured his daughter’s last words.
Filgueiras appeared alongside attorney Stuart Grossman at a news conference Friday morning, per WTVT , to honour the 20-year-old following Sunday’s devastating crash.
Flying was her passion
Like her father, Nathalia loved all things aviation. She earned her pilot’s licence at 17 and was working toward her dream of becoming a commercial airline pilot.
“She used to say, ‘Dad, can you believe that I would pay for this, but they actually pay me?’ ” Allan recalled, describing her disbelief that she was being paid to do what she loved.
Grossman spoke about Filgueiras’ experience and qualifications, which stood out despite her young age, according to the outlet.
“You read that someone is 20 years old and a co-pilot in a jet plane, you say, how can this be? Wait until you see her hours, and what the government proves about her capabilities and what her instructors had to say. She was really special,” the attorney stated.
“Beyond an average pilot, she was extraordinary,” Grossman added, explaining that Allan used to fly with her, with Nathalia initally serving as the passenger.
“When we flew together, I used to instruct her. But then she became my instructor,” he remembered. “She’d tell me, ‘Dad, I’m not being as tough on you as you were on me.’ ”
What went wrong?
In the days since the crash, Allan said he has repeatedly listened to the cockpit audio recording, searching for clues about what went wrong. He also revealed that he was in awe of his daughter’s composure in those final moments.
“She made me so proud. She showed me what it is to be a hero,” he said.
“Once you see that coming, a lot of the big boys — military or whatever — they can’t handle it,” he said. “But she was the one in there, fighting until the very last minute. I thought, ‘Wow, she is tough.’ ”
Calm and composed until the end
Filgueiras was communicating with air traffic control when she reported that the plane was accumulating ice and experiencing turbulence as it approached a severe storm, according to the audio recording between the crew and controllers.
Asked if he had a message for his daughter, Allan broke down and admitted he wished he had been with her before the tragedy.
“She was gifted, and my soulmate,” he shared. “I wanted to be by her side inside the plane to help. To be by her side … to be next to her.”
“I wanted to be by her side, and fly the plane to help her, to be by her. I had to be next to her,” he added.
Filgueiras, who is remarried and has three other children, said he is determined to keep going.
“Nathalia doesn’t want to see her father falling apart,” he said. “So, I’m going to find a way to make her proud — and make my wife and other three kids proud, too.”
- Same Learjet received warning from air traffic control months before Florida crash: Report
- Pilot, passengers of doomed Florida Learjet identified: ‘THEY LOVED THEIR PEOPLE FIERCELY’
- Lenny Kravitz shuts down rumour he died in Florida Learjet crash
Cause of the crash remains unknown
Federal investigators are reviewing multiple factors as they work to determine what caused the fatal plane crash.
The jet had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and bound for North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas when it went down in Palm Beach County, Fla.
Officials said the plane left a massive crater in the road and scattered debris across the area.
Video shows the plane nose-diving toward the ground before exploding and sending black plumes of smoke into the air.
A Learjet 60 (N722BD) from Austin crashed into a Greenacres, FL mobile home park near Military Trail & 10th Ave N after a rapid vertical descent.
— GeoTechWar (@geotechwar) November 1, 2026
The impact downing power lines caused a huge fireball and crater. Officials report multiple fatalities; totals remain unconfirmed.… pic.twitter.com/V77MZdvye0
Grossman also expressed condolences to the other victims and their loved ones.
Pilot Jeff Gregory was in the cockpit with Filgueiras when the plane plummeted to the ground. The other passengers who died were tech entrepreneur Adam Robinson and his wife, artist Helen Sharp; their two children, Emma, 4, and Charlie, 2; their nanny, Anita Maria Cetina; and the couple’s friends, Charmi Fehr and Rachael Reed.
Filgueiras’ family had not filed a lawsuit as of Friday, the outlet reported.
Their attorneys said they are waiting for the National Transportation Safety Board to complete its investigation.