Twenty-year-old co-pilot Nathalia Gadelha sent her boyfriend a message about difficult flying conditions shortly before the private jet she was aboard crashed in Florida, according to her family.

“I’ve got turbulence, I’ve got ice.”

Her stepfather, Thiago Corteleti, told the New York Post the message was sent at about 12:40 p.m., about ten minutes before the crash. Her boyfriend is also a pilot.

Gadelha was among nine people killed when the Learjet 60 came down in Palm Beach County on Sunday, November 1. Her mother, Camila, and stepfather subsequently identified her as one of those aboard.

The aircraft had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was heading to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas. The Federal Aviation Administration said it crashed near Cresthaven at approximately 12:50 p.m. local time.

For Gadelha, aviation had been an ambition since her teenage years. She began flying lessons in 2020 and earned her private pilot’s license at 17, before obtaining a driver’s license. Her father, who qualified as a pilot in 2018, had helped teach her to fly.

Speaking previously to CBS12 about that unusual milestone, she said:

“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. I think it’s funny, and I now want my [driver’s] license really bad.”

She hoped to become a commercial pilot.

In the minutes before the crash, communications recorded by LiveATC.net captured the crew reporting icing, turbulence, and precipitation. After requesting a higher altitude, they issued emergency calls as the aircraft began descending rapidly. Flight-tracking data also recorded a steep descent before transmissions stopped.

One of the distress calls was:

“We're descending 8,000 - mayday, mayday - we're descending 10,000 feet per minute.”

Another transmission captured the words:

“We're going to crash into the ground.”

The aircraft struck near Military Trail, between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North, and erupted into flames. All nine people aboard died, according to authorities.

Residents described fire and wreckage close to their homes. Anthony Blackmon told NBC6:

“Debris hit my house. Everything was on fire, even the road was on fire.”

He added:

“I've always seen it on the news; never thought it would happen so close to somebody like how it happened today.”

The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation, with assistance from the FAA. Although the crew reported adverse weather conditions, the cause of the crash has not been established.