Crashed Learjet’s 20-year-old co-pilot remembered for her early love of flying

BOCA RATON, Fla. — In a neighborhood of palm-tree-lined streets and houses with perfectly manicured lawns, friends and relatives of Nathalia Filgueiras arrived at her family home to mourn the 20-year-old co-pilot who a day ago plummeted to her death in Florida aboard a Learjet 60 jet alongside eight other victims.

Filgueiras’ mother, Camila Corteleti; her older sister, Giulia Filgueiras; her stepfather, Thiago Corteleti; and her younger sister all gathered in the dining room. With eyes swollen from crying, they wore black and white as they waited to hear from authorities about her remains.

Nicole Tarantino, 21, stopped by Monday to pay her respects to the family after waking up that morning to the news that her friend died in the plane crash. She and Filgueiras had known each other since they were in elementary school.

“She was a beautiful person inside and out,” Tarantino told NBC News. Heartbroken and in tears, she said her friend always knew she wanted to be a pilot.

“When it came to picking colleges, she was looking at aviation schools,” Tarantino said. “She was dedicated. She was only 20 years old doing all of that, and she excelled at it.”

Growing up in a…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/health