The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) plans to conduct interviews with the two pilots who survived the recent crash of an Amazon cargo jet in Miami. According to NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy, the cockpit voice recorder recovered from the aircraft contains over two hours of high-quality audio. The NTSB will not disclose this information until after interviewing the pilots to hear their firsthand account of the incident.
During a press briefing, NTSB investigator Chihoon Shin revealed that the flight data recording indicated that 30 seconds before the recording ended, the nose landing gear and right main landing gear made contact, followed by the left main landing gear 19 seconds before the recording stopped. Shin also noted that shortly after, the brakes were released, and the throttles were adjusted to levels consistent with initiating a go-around.
Furthermore, Shin stated that there was no evidence in the recorded data to suggest that speed brakes or thrust reversers were activated during the sequence of events. Meanwhile, the tragic crash resulted in the loss of five lives on the ground, with the cargo jet running off the runway upon landing and colliding with a van on airport property before crashing into an SUV on a city street.
The individuals who lost their lives were employees of Professional Ocean Service Corp., a plane cleaning company. The company refrained from commenting on the incident out of respect for the affected families, emphasizing the deep bond among its employees. The deceased individuals were identified by the Miami-Dade sheriff 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 another in stable condition. The mangled van and severely damaged SUV, along with the Amazon jet, remained at the crash site as investigators continued their examination. The flight, operated by 21 Air, a cargo carrier based in North Carolina, had originated from Puerto Rico and encountered stormy conditions during its landing approach at the Miami airport.
Despite the lack of a runway excursion system at Miami’s airport, experts noted that the airport complies with federal regulations due to the presence of a safety buffer at the runway’s end. The Boeing 767 aircraft, operated by 21 Air, had a history of passenger service before being converted to a cargo plane in 2015. As investigations continue, two runways at the Miami airport remain closed until the NTSB concludes its on-site inquiries.