I’m sickened by the attacks on the young woman pilot killed in Florida. She never gave up

November 4, 2026 — 11:46am

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On November 1, a Learjet 60 carrying two pilots and seven passengers was on a routine flight from Texas to the Bahamas. Within minutes, the crew reported icing, turbulence and a rapid descent. An emergency was declared. Witnesses saw the aircraft fall from the sky before it crashed in Palm Beach County, killing all nine people on board.

The pilots were captain Jeff Gregory, 55, with several decades of flying experience, and co-pilot Nathalia Filgueiras, 20, from Florida. Nathalia earned her commercial pilot’s licence while in high school, before she had learned to drive.

For those who fly, such a disaster feels very close to home. Aviation offers a unique perspective on life; on every flight, its practitioners must confront the possibility of death.

After an aircraft accident, many people with flying experience and plenty with none, become overnight experts. Amid the rush to lay blame, a young woman at the controls seems to attract a particularly harsh form of scrutiny.

“She was a DEI hire”. “She was texting her boyfriend and not tending to the aircraft”. “She should never have flown into a thunderstorm. Everyone knows you stay clear, pilot error”. “‘The girl’ was in a panic and........

© The Sydney Morning Herald