Born on June 23, 1966, in Miami Beach , Florida , Carlos Costa was 29 years old when the shooting down of the small airplanes took place.

He joined the nonprofit organization of Brothers to the Rescue (BTTR) in 1992. During the next four years, he took part in 141 flights, searching for Cuban raftsmen on the sea and cooperating with the U.S. Coastguardsmen to rescue them.

Carlos also flew to third countries with the purpose of taking food, water, clothes and other supplies to raftsmen who were in detention centers. His activities within the organization included the training of new pilots and crewmembers; preparing the aircraft before the flights, and coordinating the search and rescue missions. He devoted many hours to his humanitarian job and was one of the most active members in the organization.

Carlos decided to join BTTR upon knowing numerous cases of Cuban raftsmen who dared to try the dangerous crossing of the Florida Straits on makeshift rafts. He was deeply impressed by the rescue he witnessed of a group of raftsmen while he was enjoying a cruise with his family. This experience moved him to put his knowledge at the service of a humanitarian cause.

He obtained his Bachelor's degree in Aeronautical Science at the Embry-Riddle Aeronautics University , and also earned his Bachelor's degree in Aviation Administration at Miami-Dade Community College , and was licensed as a private and commercial pilot, instrumental pilot, instructor, and multiple-engine instructor. Carlos worked in the Miami International Airport , where his responsibilities included offering training curses to the employees about aviation rules and regulations and compliance with the standards of the Federal Aviation Agency. Driven by his own passion for flying, he concentrated his interest on aviation since a very early age and obtained several jobs in the industry, including one as salesman for a distributing company of engine parts, and another one as fuel technician at the Tamiami Airport Jet Center . He was always a committed and responsible person, and held different jobs throughout his studies in high school and college.

Carlos was raised in Miami and attended Monsignor Pace High School . His parents, Mirta and Osvaldo Costa; his sister Mirta Méndez, a niece and two nephews survive him.