Miami-Dade sheriff confirms identities of 5 victims in deadly Amazon plane crash
Fox News correspondent Danamarie McNicholl reports on Miami-Dade authorities identifying the five people who died after an Amazon cargo plane ran off the runway at Miami International Airport and hit a van. Appearing on “The Story,” McNicholl also outlines the National Transportation Safety Board investigation, as officials review the aircraft’s flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder in an effort to determine what caused the deadly crash.
In the aftermath of the Amazon cargo plane crash at Miami International Airport that left five people dead, one of the pilots reportedly called his wife and said his “career was over,” according to a new report.
Abraham Altamar told CBS News he saw the fiery crash unfold Sunday while working inside a nearby building. Altamar did not say which of the two pilots he spoke with after the incident.
He said he was on FaceTime with his wife when the pilot came up to him.
“He was, like, shaking and, and a little injured in his forehead and his hand,” Altamar said. “I was like, ‘Hey, you want me to call 911?’ He’s like, ‘No, we already called them.’”
Investigators continue working on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, after an Amazon Prime Air Boeing 767 went through a fence and hit vehicles at Miami International Airport on Sunday. (Al Diaz/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
The pilot then called his wife on Altamar’s phone to tell her what had happened, CBS reported.
Altamar said the pilot told his wife that he was fine, while instructing her to tell his mother that he was in an accident but survived.
During this conversation, the pilot also reportedly said, “My career is over.”
The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office identified the two pilots as Joseph Carroll, 55, and Jaime Felipe Silva Molina, 37.
A police officer looks on at the Amazon cargo plane on Monday, Sept. 7, 2026, after it crashed at Miami International Airport on Sunday. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
ALSO READ: Norway Royal Scandal: Queen Sonja Shuns New King’s Rapist Stepson
A LinkedIn profile for Carroll lists him as a captain for 21 Air, the company operating the plane that crashed over the weekend. A profile for Molina lists him as a first officer at 21 Air.
Federal Aviation Administration records show both men hold airline transport pilot certificates and are qualified to fly Boeing 767 aircraft, the model involved in the Miami crash.
The aircraft was on its third flight of the day when it tried landing at Miami International.
Damaged vehicles are seen at Miami International Airport on Monday, Sept. 7, 2026, after an Amazon cargo plane crashed into them on Sunday in Miami, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The jet overshot the runway by at least 1,300 feet beyond the paved surface before crashing into multiple vehicles, including a 2012 white Ford Econoline van with passengers inside, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said during a Monday press conference.
The aircraft then crashed through the airport perimeter and struck a civilian vehicle, a Toyota Corolla Cross LE.
On Tuesday, Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz released the names of the five people who were killed, all of whom were inside vehicles that were hit by the plane.
Jennifer Homendy, chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, holds a press conference on the investigation into the Amazon Cargo plane crash at Miami International Airport on Sept. 7, 2026, in Miami, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
They were identified as: Rolando Aleman Leon, 55; Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo, 53; Julio C. Pineda, 75; Carlos Acosta Fajardo, 53; and 47-year-old Javierkys Reyes Quevedo.
Five others were injured, including the pilots, who were treated and released. The other three people remained hospitalized as of Tuesday, with two of them in critical condition.
News Media reached out to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office for additional comment.