Father of Learjet co-pilot speaks out after deadly crash

Okay. Good morning, everyone. I'm Stuart Grossman. I introduce you to Alan Fugaras, my partner, Andy Yaffa, and Billy Mulligan. It is customary among law firms that the moment they file a lawsuit to call a press conference. This is not today's topic. We're suing no one yet. The purpose of today's press conference is to express Through Alan and this law firm, our condolences to everyone who perished, to their families, to their friends, and to make it known that we are suffering along with you. The second purpose is to thank, very candidly, the NTSB for sending nearly 20 investigators here to South Florida to look into the circumstances that are many factors that led to this terrible tragedy. And along those lines, to all of those who have been dispossessed, required to move to public housing or hotel rooms or gymnasiums because of this incident, we're sorry for the inconvenience. I know that the authorities are trying to wrap up the investigation as quickly as they can, but that's what we wanted to convey. And the purpose of this is to preserve not just her memory, but her reputation. Natalia was beyond an average pilot. She was extraordinary and if you've been reading the media accounts of everyone who trained her or was involved in flying with her, that's all you'll hear. She was at the top of her class in everything that she did and she was perfectly qualified to be the co-pilot on this flight despite her tender years. My client, Alan, who is her father, was the reason why she flew. Because from the time she was 12 years old, he, who is a pilot, Alan, would take her up, and she fell in love with flying. That compounds our tragedy, knowing that this is where it all began. But that's why we're here today. We're not making allegations against anybody at this time. We're going to do the right thing, and we're going to listen to what the government uncovers. Then we'll have our experts look at it and say they agree or not. But I think everyone should stay out of the government's way, and for once in their lifetime, let law firms relax and just do the right thing, okay? That's it. We love her, not as much as you, but from everything I've read in this past week And from all of the accounts. I feel as if I know your daughter, and she was extraordinary. Thank you. Is there anything along those lines that you care to ask? Again, please don't ask us questions about fault. We're not talking about that at all. Sir, would you like to say anything about your daughter? You can say right now. She was gifted. She was gifted and my soulmate. Ma'am, you had something you wanted to add? Yeah, just along those same lines, if you were to give a message to your daughter, what would you like her to know? I wanted to be by her side, inside the plane, to help, to be by her. It seemed like I had to be next to her. We'll let you know when the report comes out what our point of view is on it. And thank you very much for covering this story. Yes, sir. You mentioned as much as preserving Natalia's memory, you wanted to preserve her reputation. Yes. Is there a particular social media comment? I'm like everyone in the public. When you read that someone's 20 years old and a co-pilot in a jet plane, you say, how can this be? We'll wait until you see her hours and what the government proves about her capabilities and what her instructors had to say. She was really special. This is a loss to aviation. One of the quotes was, she didn't want to work for the airlines. She wanted to be a pilot. That's what was important to her, was piloting. Sir, can you tell us about your daughter's love for flying? How much did she love to do what she was doing? You know, she said, Dad. Can you believe, can you believe that I would pay for this, but they're actually paying me, you know? I would pay for this, but I'm actually getting paid. So it was her happiest moment to fly. Thank you. I've also seen some mission acknowledgement of your daughter's professionalism in those final moments on her radio transmissions. When you listen to those transmissions, it's heartbreaking as it is. Are you hearing the professional pilot that you knew she was? She made me so proud. She showed me what it is to be a hero. Because once you see that coming, a lot of the big boys, military or whatever, they can't handle. And she was the one over there, to the last minute, fighting. And I did listen to that many times, trying to find a clue. In my head, how that happened, and wow, she's tough. When we were flying together, I used to instruct her, but then she became my instructor, and she said, Dad, I'm not being tough on you as you were on me. And I said, you can be tough on me. I wanted to make sure, I wanted to make sure, you know, that she was starting, you know. Thank you everybody. She said you speak Spanish or Portuguese. At home, at home, our entire life, at home, only Portuguese was allowed. Because she born here in Miami and if the parents don't speak the language that they know, whatever it is, the child will lose and it's going to be only English. And if I could teach her 10 languages, if I knew, I would. Você fala português pouquinho? Português. Eu sou brasileiro. Do you speak Spanish or do you want to speak a little Spanish? I speak Spanish. Can you tell us in Spanish a little bit about the story, about your daughter? How has this been for the family? Para la familia, es quitar el corazón de dentro de mi pecho. For my family, I have to find a way to live. I'm going to make my other three, you know, I'm going to make my four kids and my wife and myself proud. So I have to find a way. Natalia doesn't want to see a father falling apart. So I'm going to find a way. I'm going to find a way to make her proud, my other three kids and my wife proud. How would you describe your daughter's passion for flying in English? You taught yourself, how would you describe it? Can you tell us a little bit in Spanish or in Portuguese? No one wanted to come with me. And she said, let's go, daddy, let's go. And we went to Key West to get a coffee and we returned to the airport. We arrived at the airport, well, why don't we go to Naples now to get another coffee? And every hour we would go to a different place to eat something. And our favorite thing. Now I remember. Thank you. We're done. That applies to you as well. Thank you. Thank you. We're done.