A 20-year-old woman, a licensed pilot since her teens and a technology entrepreneur, and her family were among nine people killed when a small plane crashed and exploded in South Florida, family members said.
Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras was the co-pilot of a Learjet from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas on Sunday when it crashed and exploded near West Palm Beach, her mother Camila Corteleti told the New York Post and the New York Times.
Filgueiras earned her bachelor’s degree in 2023 when she was 17 years old at West Boca Raton Community High School, according to local reports. at the time.
AP AUDIO: Florida plane crash victims include 20-year-old woman who got her pilot’s license as a teenager
AP correspondent Julie Walker reports that victims of a Florida plane crash include a 20-year-old woman who got her pilot’s license when she was a teenager.
The crash also killed Adam Robinson, his wife, Helen Sharp, and their children, Emma, 4, and Charlie, 2, according to a statement from the families of the seven passengers. Anita Maria Cetina, who helped care for the children, also died.
Two other victims were identified as Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr. The identity of the other pilot was not immediately released.
Robinson created technology companies
“Our thoughts are also with the families of the pilots, who mourn alongside us,” said the families of the seven pilots.
Robinson recently told ProfitLed Podcast that he and his family lived in Aspen, Colorado. He was co-founder of Robly, an email marketing platform, and founder of Retention.comwhich uses technology to connect visitors to e-commerce websites with their email addresses.
“I feel like I’m living a dream,” Robinson, 45, said.
“I love that I can see my children in the morning and evening, not travel so much for work and live in this place that has always been my dream,” he said. “And my wife is super happy because she can be an artist full time.”
Robinson was known in Austin, Texas, where Retention.com was based. This is the second time this year that Austin has lost a tech entrepreneur in a plane crash, following the Joshua Baer dies in Junewho ran a venture capital firm that backed tech startups.
“Adam was part of the entrepreneurial fabric of Austin,” said Thom Singer, CEO of the Austin Technology Council, which promotes local industry.
The pilot joked about her youth and skills
Filgueiras’ pilot’s license indicated she was qualified to pilot the jet, but not to command the flight.
The Palm Beach County School District paid for his license through the high school’s specialized aviation academy, in which students train to fly on simulators and drones.
“Some people think it’s weird that I can fly planes, but I can’t drive a car,” Filgueiras told WPEC-TV in 2023. “I think it’s funny.”
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