THE harrowing extended audio from the doomed Learjet crash revealed air traffic control officials warned the pilots about extreme weather conditions as they approached South Florida.
died in the horrific crash in Palm Beach County on Sunday, when the private plane before smashing into a residential area, erupting into a fireball and leaving a giant crater.
The Federal Aviation Administration’s air traffic controllers in Miami alerted the flight crew, captain Jeff Gregory, 55, and his co-pilot , 20, about the weather conditions as the Learjet 60 approached the South Florida area.
“N772BD, the turn to Freeport looks pretty bad,” the air traffic control official told the flight crew.
“There is a moderate to extreme precipitation at 11 o’clock and 25 miles, 100 miles in diameter.”
Filgueiras confirmed having received the message and responded, “Roger, we’ll look at it.”
Flight data showed the Learjet 60 crew descended south toward Naples to circle around the storm, then continued on its flight path northeast towards Palm Beach County.
As the Learjet crew approached the airspace near Palm Beach County, it reported to air traffic control that it was experiencing moderate turbulence and light clear ice that was manageable.
National Transportation Safety Board member Tom Chapman said in a press conference on Monday that the private plane was flying through temperatures of -50 degrees Fahrenheit when it began to experience the extreme weather conditions.
Air traffic controllers told the Learjet they were working them into their airspace, to which Filgueiras asked if they had “any better rides.”
What we know so far about the Learjet crash…
- The on Sunday night, with bone-chilling audio revealing the flight’s final moments before the crash killed all nine people on board.
- The young co-pilot was identified as , 20. A resurfaced interview with Filgueiras revealed that she at just 17.
- It was initially feared that pieces of the aircraft had ripped off mid-air before the pilots lost control.
- Video of the crash site showed the fiery crater left by the Learjet as it plummeted to the ground.
- Experts have identified clues in the harrowing audio pointing to known by pilots as “coffin corner.”
- The other as Adam Robinson, 45, his wife, Helena Sharp, 40, their two children, Emma, 4, and Charlie, 2, as well as two close friends, a nanny, and the captain.
“N2BD, the ride should improve in my airspace. You’re kinda far outside of it right now. You can expect better rides ahead,” the air traffic official replied to Filgueiras.
The young pilot communicated that their aircraft began picking up precipitation and asked if they could climb to 37,000ft.
But seconds after the request was granted, as they rapidly lost control of the Learjet 60.
“722BD, we’re descending 8,000 – mayday, mayday, we’re descending 10,000 feet per minute,” Filgueiras frantically said.
“Declaring an emergency, 722BD! We are in an overspeed condition. Descending 20,000 feet per minute.”
The air traffic control official received Filgueiras’ emergency call, asking, “Roger, altitude your discretion. Let me know what you need.”
Filgueiras is then heard screaming and saying, “We’re going to crash into the ground.”
“We are descending 22,000 feet and we are banking 60 degrees.”
As Filgueiras desperately pleads for help, Gregory is heard reciting the Lord’s Prayer in the background.
“Holy f**k we’re out of time,” Filgueiras said before the audio from the private plane went silent.
The U.S. Sun is choosing not to play the final seconds of the mayday call.
The $2million Learjet 60 disintegrated on impact, killing all passengers and crew members onboard.
The passengers were identified as tech entrepreneur Adam Robinson, 45, his wife Helen Sharp, 40, and their two children, Emma, 4, and Charlie, 2.
The family was traveling with two close friends, Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr, and their nanny, Anita Maria Apellido Cetina.
Filgueiras, who grew up in Palm Beach County, earned her private pilot’s license in October 2023, as a 17-year-old senior at West Boca Raton High School.
She was featured in a news segment on CBS affiliate WPEC where she revealed she had earned her wings before getting her driver’s license.
“I definitely do brag because people say, ‘Oh, you can’t drive,’ and I’m like, ‘yeah, but I can fly,’” she said at the time.
“I like being different than everyone, so to me, I think it’s cool that like it’s not really an opportunity, I just didn’t do it, and this is how it ended up.
“But I think it’s cool. Some people think that it’s weird that I can fly planes, but I can’t drive a car, I mean I can but, a lot of people think it’s funny.”
Filgueiras started Ground School in 2020 during her sophomore year, but gained firsthand aviation experience from her father, who picked up recreational flying in 2018.
The young pilot explained that she had clocked air miles daily since she entered Ground School, and built 88 hours of flight time on top of passing the knowledge test students need to earn their private pilot’s license.
The Palm Beach County school district paid for Filgueiras to get her license through their Aviation Academy.
Camila Corteleti, Filgueiras’ mother, told The New York Times that her daughter had been passionate about flying since childhood.
She said as a child her daughter enjoyed going to Boca Raton Airport to watch the planes take off and land.
“She loved the freedom,” she said.
“It was completely different seeing the world from the top.”
The distraught mother said she feared her daughter’s dream would eventually take her away from her.
“I wanted her to live her dream, but I knew that her dream was going to be the thing that would take her away from me,” Camila told the New York Post .
“I knew that a plane was gonna take her away from me.
“I always knew it but I was so proud of her. I know she was living her dream.”
Camila’s husband, Thiago Corteleti, said Filgueiras had clocked 1,300 hours of flying experience and had texted her boyfriend, Justin, 10 minutes before the horrific crash.
“She just said, ‘I’ve got turbulence, I’ve got ice,” Corteleti said about his stepdaughter.
Filgueiras would have turned 21 in January and had been working as a commercial pilot for nine months, her mother told the New York Post.
The Learjet 60 took off from Austin, Texas, on Sunday morning and was en route to the Bahamas when the pilot began to report bad weather and turbulence.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.
