Joseph Carroll Pilot Crash Miami, FL; 55-Year-Old Man Identified as Captain in Fatal Miami Airport Cargo Plane Crash

Joseph Carroll, 55, has been identified as the captain of the Amazon cargo plane involved in a deadly runway overrun at Miami International Airport on September 6, 2026, a crash that left five people dead and brought renewed attention to runway safety at one of the nation’s busiest airports.

Carroll was the captain aboard Prime Air Flight 7598, a Boeing cargo aircraft operated by 21 Air, according to information cited by CBS News from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, LinkedIn profiles and the Federal Aviation Administration’s pilot database. The flight’s first officer was identified as 37-year-old Jaime Felipe Silva Molina.

The aircraft had departed Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, before encountering trouble while landing at Miami International Airport. The plane overran the runway, struck airport navigation equipment and then collided with a cleaning crew van carrying seven people.

The aircraft continued beyond the airport perimeter, breaking through a fence before striking a Toyota SUV traveling outside the airport. It crossed another fence and eventually came to a stop near parked Tesla robotaxis. The five people who died were occupants of the two vehicles struck by the aircraft.

In the chaotic moments after the crash, witness Abraham Altamar told CBS News that one of the pilots emerged from the cockpit visibly shaken and injured. According to Altamar, the pilot asked to use his phone to contact his wife and told her that he was safe and had made it out of the aircraft. The pilot’s wife later recalled hearing him say, “My career is over.” It has not been established whether the pilot described by the witness was Carroll or Silva Molina.

Both Carroll and Silva Molina survived the crash but suffered injuries. National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said the two pilots were treated and subsequently released.

The deadly accident has prompted an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, which is working to determine why the aircraft was unable to stop before leaving the runway and whether other factors contributed to the severity of the crash.

Investigators have recovered the aircraft’s cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder and transported the devices to the NTSB’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., where specialists will analyze the information. The recordings and flight data are expected to provide investigators with a detailed account of the aircraft’s final moments, including its speed, braking performance, cockpit communications and other operational conditions.

Investigators are also examining airport safety measures, including whether an Engineered Materials Arresting System, commonly known as EMAS, could have helped slow or stop the aircraft and potentially reduced the consequences of the runway overrun.

For Carroll, a 55-year-old veteran pilot entrusted with commanding a commercial cargo flight, the crash has placed his name among those connected to one of the most devastating aviation accidents in the Miami area in recent years. Yet investigators have emphasized that identifying the pilots does not establish responsibility for the accident.

The cause of the runway overrun remains undetermined, and officials have not assigned blame to Carroll, Silva Molina, the airline, the airport or any other party. The NTSB investigation remains active, with investigators expected to examine the aircraft, runway conditions, weather, operational procedures, airport infrastructure and the performance of the aircraft’s braking and other systems.

As the investigation continues, the five people who lost their lives remain at the center of the tragedy, while Carroll and Silva Molina face the aftermath of an accident that left them injured and claimed the lives of people who had no connection to the aircraft other than being in its path.

The NTSB has not yet announced a final determination on what caused Flight 7598 to overrun the runway. A definitive explanation is expected only after investigators complete their examination of the evidence and issue their findings.

If you want, I can also turn this into a more emotional obituary-style article focused specifically on Joseph Carroll, while keeping the reporting factual and avoiding unsupported personal details.