Witness says Miami plane crash pilot told him, ‘My career is over’ after deadly runway overrun
MIAMI —
The NTSB believes the pilots of an Amazon cargo plane involved in Sunday’s deadly crash at Miami International Airport considered aborting the landing moments before the disaster.
The crash killed five people and injured five others when the plane overran the runway and collided with two vehicles, including a cleaning company van carrying seven people.
Abraham Altamar, a witness to the fiery crash, described his interaction with one of the pilots. “He mentioned something saying, ‘Oh, my career is over,'” Altamar said.
Olvin Henrriquez
A witness recounted his interaction with a pilot after a plane crash at Miami International Airport that killed five people and injured five others.
Altamar said the pilot appeared nervous, unsteady, and visibly shaken.
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“He was like shaking, of course, that was a lot for any human being to be a part of,” said Altamar. “I noticed that he had this bruise on his hand and his forehead; that’s all I noticed. He didn’t seem to be injured with something serious.”
Altamar said the pilot used his phone to call his wife and inform her that he was alive.
The NTSB revealed that seconds before the crash, the plane’s throttles were set to full power. However, onboard data showed no indication that speed brakes or thrust reversers, systems designed to slow down a plane, were deployed during the incident.
Mary Schiavo, a former U.S. Department of Transportation inspector general, said, “They were coming in hot, meaning too much airspeed, and they were above the glide path that they were supposed to be on to get down.”
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The pilots have been identified as 55-year-old Joseph Carroll and 37-year-old Jaime Felipe Silva Molina. Altamar said he is unsure which pilot he spoke with.
Investigators plan on releasing the cockpit voice recordings for further analysis on Wednesday.