“We’re Out of Time”: The Final Words Heard Before Florida Learjet Crash That Killed 20-Year-Old Co-Pilot Nathalia Filgueiras

A routine flight turned into a terrifying fight for survival when a Learjet 60 carrying nine people suddenly began plunging toward the ground in Palm Beach County, Florida. Among those aboard was 20-year-old co-pilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, a young woman whose passion for aviation had started when she was still a teenager. In the final moments before the aircraft crashed on November 1, 2026, air traffic control recordings captured increasingly desperate messages from the cockpit, ending with the haunting words: “We’re out of time.”

Nathalia had grown up in a Brazilian family with a deep connection to flying. Her father was a pilot, and she learned about aviation from him. According to her family, flying was not simply a career choice but her greatest passion. She earned her pilot’s license at just 17 while attending West Boca Raton Community High School in Florida. She later gained the qualifications needed to fly the Learjet 60 as a co-pilot, although her license did not authorize her to serve as captain of the aircraft. At only 20, she had already reached a milestone many aspiring pilots spend years working toward.

The flight had departed Austin, Texas, and was headed for the Bahamas. At approximately 35,000 feet, the crew reported ice and moderate turbulence. The female voice communicating with air traffic control initially described the conditions as manageable, but the situation quickly deteriorated. After reporting precipitation and requesting permission to climb, the crew suddenly announced that the aircraft was descending at an alarming rate. A Mayday call followed. The descent accelerated from thousands of feet per minute to approximately 20,000 feet per minute, while the cockpit also reported an overspeed condition. At one point, the voice warned controllers, “We’re going to crash into the ground.”

The final exchange was especially distressing. As the aircraft continued its uncontrolled descent, the recording captured a voice saying, “We’re out of time.” A man could also reportedly be heard reciting part of the Lord’s Prayer. The communications ended shortly before the jet struck the ground and erupted into flames. All nine people aboard were killed. Importantly, the recording available to the public is air traffic control communications, not a verified cockpit voice-recorder transcript. Although reports have identified Nathalia as the co-pilot, investigators have not officially established every speaker’s identity in the recording.

In the minutes before the crash, Nathalia had reportedly sent a message to her boyfriend describing the dangerous conditions. According to an account shared by her family with the media, she wrote that she was experiencing turbulence and ice. The message reportedly arrived around 12:40 p.m., roughly ten minutes before the aircraft went down. Her family and friends have been left devastated by the loss. One longtime friend said hearing the final radio communications was among the most painful things she had ever experienced, while also expressing pride in how Nathalia continued communicating during the emergency.

The tragedy has also raised difficult questions about what happened to the aircraft. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board are examining the weather, possible icing, turbulence, the crew’s actions and the possibility of a mechanical or structural failure. Investigators have reported finding pieces of the aircraft’s tail control surface miles from the main crash site, indicating that the jet may have begun breaking apart before impact. No final cause has been established. For Nathalia’s family, however, the investigation cannot change the devastating reality: a young woman who had pursued her dream of flying since childhood lost her life while doing the work she loved. Her story is now remembered not only through the frightening final recording, but also through the determination and passion that brought her into the cockpit in the first place.