The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has announced plans to conduct interviews with the two pilots who survived the recent Amazon cargo jet crash in Miami. According to NTSB chairwoman Jennifer Homendy, the cockpit voice recorder recovered from the aircraft contains over two hours of high-quality audio data. However, the NTSB has stated that the data will not be released until after the pilots provide their account of the incident during the upcoming interview.
During a briefing on Tuesday evening, NTSB investigator Chihoon Shin revealed details from the flight data recording. Shin mentioned that 30 seconds before the conclusion of the recording, the nose landing gear and right main landing gear made contact, followed by the left main landing gear touching down 19 seconds before the end. Shortly after, the brakes were released and the throttles were increased to levels consistent with go-around thrust. Shin also noted that there was no evidence in the recorded data indicating the deployment of speed brakes or thrust reversers.
The tragic crash resulted in five fatalities on the ground when the jet overshot the runway upon landing. The aircraft collided with a van on airport premises before crashing through a fence and striking an SUV on a city street. All five individuals who lost their lives were occupants of the van owned by Professional Ocean Service Corp., a plane cleaning company. The company expressed condolences and refrained from commenting further out of respect for the affected families.
The deceased individuals have been identified as Rolando Aleman Leon, Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo, Julio C. Pineda, Carlos Acosta Fajardo, and Javierkys Reyes Quevedo. Additionally, five other individuals sustained injuries, with two in critical condition and one in stable condition. The crash site still retains the wreckage of the van, SUV, and the Amazon jet, which bore a soot mark near the “Prime Air” insignia.
The flight, operated by 21 Air, was a cargo carrier that originated from Puerto Rico and encountered stormy weather upon landing at Miami International Airport. The NTSB reported that the plane traveled approximately 396 meters beyond the runway’s end during the incident. Despite lacking a runway excursion system, Miami’s airport is deemed compliant with federal regulations due to its 305-meter safety buffer at the runway ends. The Boeing 767 aircraft involved in the crash, originally designed for passenger transport, was converted into a cargo plane in 2015 after serving various airlines globally for more than two decades.
Two runways at Miami’s airport remain closed as NTSB investigators continue to collect essential data from the crash site. The airport authorities have stated that the runways will remain shut until the investigation is concluded.