MIAMI — One of the pilots who survived the deadly Amazon cargo plane crash at Miami International Airport reportedly borrowed a witness’s phone after escaping the wreckage and told his wife, “My career is over,” as investigators examine an unstable landing, a possible late go-around attempt and why key deceleration systems apparently did not deploy.
The September 6 crash killed five people on the ground and injured five others. The Boeing 767, operated by 21 Air for Amazon, overran Runway 30 while arriving from San Juan, Puerto Rico, before striking airport equipment, a cleaning crew van and another vehicle.
Pilot reportedly made emotional call after escaping
Witness Abraham Altamar said one of the pilots approached him shortly after the crash while appearing shaken and suffering injuries to his forehead and hand.
Altamar said the pilot used his phone to call his wife, told her he had survived and asked her to tell his mother he was safe. During the conversation, the pilot reportedly said, “My career is over.”
The pilots were identified as Captain Joseph Carroll, 55, and First Officer Jaime Felipe Silva Molina, 37. Both survived and were released after treatment. Authorities have not publicly confirmed which pilot made the call.
Flight data raises new questions about the landing
The National Transportation Safety Board says Flight 7598 was a Boeing 767-33A operating under federal cargo rules when it overran Runway 30. The investigation remains ongoing, and no probable cause has been announced.
Preliminary flight data indicates the aircraft touched down at about 158 knots, or roughly 182 mph. Investigators are examining a sequence in which braking began, was then released as engine thrust increased to a setting consistent with a possible go-around, and was later reapplied.
The NTSB is also looking at why flight data showed no indication that the speed brakes or thrust reversers deployed. Both systems can help an aircraft slow after landing, but their apparent non-use does not by itself establish what caused the crash.
Jet traveled about 1,300 feet beyond runway
The Boeing traveled roughly 1,300 feet beyond the paved runway after leaving Runway 30.
It struck navigational equipment and a 2012 Ford Econoline van carrying seven people associated with a contract aircraft-cleaning company. The aircraft then broke through the airport perimeter and struck a Toyota Corolla Cross traveling on Northwest 67th Avenue.
The initial Amazon cargo plane crash report from Miami details the emergency response and first information released after the runway overrun.
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Five victims killed in vehicles
Miami-Dade authorities identified the five people killed as Rolando Aleman Leon, 55; Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo, 53; Julio C. Pineda, 75; Carlos Acosta Fajardo, 53; and Javierkys Reyes Quevedo, 47.
All five were in vehicles struck by the aircraft. Five others were injured, including the two pilots.
Additional background on the workers caught in the aircraft’s path is available in the Miami cargo jet cleaning crew van report.
Black boxes recovered as investigators examine final seconds
Both the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder have been recovered. Those devices can help investigators reconstruct aircraft speed, engine power, braking, cockpit communications and crew actions during the final approach and landing.
The 32-year-old Boeing 767 was on its third flight of the day, having flown Cincinnati to Miami, Miami to San Juan and then back toward Miami. Its age alone does not indicate that it was unsafe or contributed to the crash.
Investigators are examining weather, aircraft performance, crew decision-making, operating procedures and runway protections. Miami’s runway met federal requirements with a safety area, but it did not have an Engineered Materials Arresting System, which uses crushable material to help stop overrunning aircraft.
Wrongful-death lawsuit filed
A new legal development came on September 9 when Yaraisi Santiso Morejon, whose husband Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo died in the crash, filed a wrongful-death lawsuit in Miami-Dade County.
The lawsuit names Amazon-related entities, 21 Air, companies connected with the aircraft and the two pilots. It alleges negligence contributed to Naranjo’s death.
Those claims are allegations in a civil case and are separate from the NTSB investigation. No federal finding has established that pilot error, mechanical failure, weather or airport infrastructure caused the crash.
Critical questions remain unanswered
Investigators still need to determine why the aircraft remained unstable during the landing, why braking was interrupted, whether the crew attempted a late go-around and why the speed brakes and thrust reversers apparently did not deploy.
The pilot’s reported phone call offers a dramatic glimpse of the crash’s immediate aftermath, but the decisive evidence will come from flight-recorder data, cockpit communications, wreckage analysis, weather information and interviews with the surviving crew.
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