One of the pilots of an Amazon cargo plane repeatedly warned his counterpart about excessive speed during their approach to landing and after touchdown, according to flight information released by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The warnings came nearly two minutes before the plane careened off a Miami runway, killing five people.
The summary of cockpit voice recordings indicated that the fellow pilot did not provide consistent verbal responses to these warnings. The plane touched down awkwardly, briefly attempted to re-take off, and then crashed into a van carrying five workers, according to investigators.
The Boeing 767, operated by 21 Air for Amazon, was traveling at a high speed on Sunday afternoon when it overran the runway by approximately 1,300 feet. It then collided with a van from a plane cleaning company and a compact SUV before catching fire. All five occupants of the van died in the incident. Two other individuals sustained critical injuries.
Flight Data and Expert Analysis
Data from the flight data recorder, released Tuesday, showed the plane's unsteady approach. Shortly after touchdown, the pilots momentarily disengaged the brakes and advanced the throttles, an action consistent with attempting to abort the landing and re-take off. However, they abandoned this maneuver just four seconds later.
Automated warnings from the plane concerning the speed of descent and proximity to terrain were also captured in the cockpit audio. Former FAA official Mike O’Donnell stated that the crew could have taken multiple actions to slow the aircraft, such as extending spoilers, cutting throttles, or lowering the landing gear. He also noted that an aborted landing, or "go-around," could have been initiated up to two minutes prior to reaching the runway.
Experts have suggested that the pilots should have aborted the landing while the aircraft was still airborne, allowing them to circle and attempt another approach.
Incident Context
Investigators are examining the 32-year-old jet's ownership history, weather conditions at the airport, maintenance records, and the operational procedures of 21 Air. The flight was operating under stormy weather conditions with potential tailwinds at the time of the crash.
This is the second cargo jet crash in the United States in less than a year. In October, a UPS cargo plane crashed after losing an engine during takeoff acceleration in Louisville, Kentucky. That incident resulted in the deaths of three pilots and 12 people on the ground, with 23 additional injuries.