A pilot from the Amazon cargo plane that crashed in Miami, killing five people, reportedly told his wife 'my career is over' moments after the tragedy, according to an eyewitness.
The jet overshot the runway at Miami International Airport by around 400 metres on September 6, according to investigators. Five people travelling inside a van nearby were killed when the plane crash-landed, and five more were injured.
Pilot's phone call after crash
Abraham Altamar, who was working inside a nearby building, said he let one of the pilots use his phone to call his wife moments after the crash, CBS News reports. He recalled that the pilot was "shaking and, and a little injured in his forehead and his hand."
Altamar said the pilot told his wife he was fine, saying: "Just tell my mom that I was in the accident, but I'm already out of the plane, that I'm good." His wife, Alexis, said the pilot was upset and said: "My career is over."
Pilots identified
The pilots were identified Tuesday as Joseph Carroll, 55, and Jaime Felipe Silva Molina, 37. It wasn't immediately clear which pilot Altamar spoke with.
Flight data suggest the Amazon cargo plane tried to abort an unsteady landing at Miami International Airport before smashing into a van and killing five people inside, according to information investigators released Tuesday (September 8).
Investigation ongoing
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators will interview the pilot and co-pilot on Wednesday as they try to determine why the jet overran the runway while landing Sunday. NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said they are reviewing flight data and cockpit recordings to figure out what happened in the seconds before the aircraft slammed into the van on airport property, careened through a fence and then smashed an SUV on a city street.
Homendy said investigators want to talk to the pilots before releasing anything from the cockpit voice recorder about why they appeared to briefly attempt to perform a go-around to retry the landing approach before abandoning that and trying to stop the plane. She said the data showed the thrust reversers were never used to help stop the plane.
