‘My career is over’: an Amazon pilot’s reported words to his wife minutes after surviving a crash that killed five people

The pilot of an Amazon cargo jet that crashed at Miami International Airport reportedly told his wife his career was over just moments after surviving the wreck. As reported by Fox News, the Sunday crash killed five people on the ground when the Boeing 767 overshot the runway and struck vehicles outside the airport perimeter. The pilot sustained minor injuries to his forehead and hand and was described as visibly shaken in the aftermath.

Abraham Altamar, who was working in a nearby building when the plane plowed through a perimeter fence, encountered the pilot shortly after the crash and offered to call 911, though the pilot said emergency services had already been alerted. The pilot then used Altamar’s phone to call his wife, telling her he was safe and asking her to relay the news to his mother. During that call, he reportedly said, “My career is over.”

The aircraft, operated by North Carolina based cargo carrier 21 Air, was arriving from Puerto Rico when it attempted an unsteady landing and overshot the runway by at least 1,300 feet. National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said the plane did not use its thrust reversers to help slow down before it struck a 2012 white Ford Econoline van and a Toyota Corolla Cross LE beyond the runway.

Investigators are focused on why the crew hesitated before the impact

All five people killed in the crash were inside the van, which belonged to Professional Ocean Service Corp., a company contracted to clean planes. Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz identified the victims as Rolando Aleman Leon, 55; Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo, 53; Julio C. Pineda, 75; Carlos Acosta Fajardo, 53; and Javierkys Reyes Quevedo, 47. Professional Ocean Service Corp. said in a statement that its employees were like family and that their lives had been forever changed by the crash.

NTSB officials are reviewing flight data and cockpit voice recordings to determine why the crew appeared to attempt a brief go-around before abandoning it, according to NPR. Former FAA official Mike O’Donnell said the landing appeared unstable from the start, since the plane touched down on its nose and right landing gear first, and suggested a go-around should have been attempted earlier. Aviation attorney Mary Schiavo said there may have been disagreement between the pilots over the correct course of action, something investigators hope to clarify through scheduled crew interviews.

Strong tailwinds may have also contributed to the crash, and investigators are examining what information air traffic controllers gave the pilots about conditions and why the approach was not shifted to allow a landing into a headwind. The aircraft itself was a 32-year-old Boeing 767 that had served as a passenger plane for several international airlines before being converted for cargo use in 2015.

Questions have also been raised about Miami International Airport’s runway safety infrastructure, since the airport does not use a crushable material system at runway ends that the FAA says has helped stop runaway planes elsewhere, though officials note the airport meets current requirements with a buffer space of at least 1,000 feet. The crash led to more than 225 canceled flights and widespread delays over the weekend, disruption that echoed a separate story this week about a volcano stranding hundreds of thousands of travelers.

A third runway at the airport reopened Tuesday evening as operations began returning to normal.