NTSB Investigation Reveals Pilot Warnings Before Fatal Amazon Cargo Plane Crash in Miami

Five workers died on Sunday after a Boeing 767 cargo plane operating for Amazon Air overshot the runway at Miami International Airport and collided with several vehicles. The victims were employees of Professional Ocean Service Corp, a contractor providing aircraft cleaning services. The five men, aged 47 to 75, were traveling in a Ford van when they were struck by the aircraft. Two other occupants of the van survived with injuries. The plane, which had arrived from San Juan, Puerto Rico, also struck an airport fence, concrete barriers, and a compact SUV before catching fire.

Data from the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, recovered by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), indicate that one pilot repeatedly warned that the aircraft was too fast during the approach. According to the NTSB, the other pilot did not provide a consistent verbal response to these warnings. Automated alerts for sink rate and too low terrain were also recorded. The aircraft touched down awkwardly, with the right and nose gear hitting the runway first, while the left rear gear touched down nine seconds later. Approximately 15 seconds before the end of the recording, the pilots briefly applied full power and released the brakes in an apparent attempt to perform a go around, but they returned the throttles to idle four seconds later.

Outlets with a center right lean focused on the identities of the deceased workers and the technical sequence of the crash. Outlets with a center lean emphasized the specific data from the black boxes and the NTSB's need to interview the crew to understand the control inputs. Outlets with a left lean framed the event around potential pilot error and a failure in crew coordination, citing an aviation expert who stated the crew had ample time to abort the landing.