The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) plans to speak with the two surviving pilots of the Amazon cargo plane that crashed in Miami on Sunday. The NTSB has retrieved data from the cockpit voice recorder found on the aircraft the following day but will not disclose it at this time.
During a briefing on Tuesday evening, NTSB chairwoman Jennifer Homendy mentioned that the cockpit voice recorder contained more than two hours of clear audio. She stated that the pilots will be interviewed the next day to gather their firsthand account of the incident before the data from the voice recorder is made public.
NTSB investigator Chihoon Shin shared details during the same briefing, indicating that the nose landing gear and right main landing gear made contact with the ground 30 seconds before the end of the flight data recording. Additionally, 19 seconds before the recording ended, the left main landing gear touched down.
Shin further explained that shortly after these events, the brakes were released, and the throttles were increased to levels consistent with initiating a go-around. He confirmed that there was no evidence in the recorded data showing the deployment of speed brakes or thrust reversers.
The tragic incident resulted in five fatalities on the ground as the plane overshot the runway upon landing. It collided with a van on airport property, crashed through a fence, and struck an SUV on a city street. The van belonged to Professional Ocean Service Corp., a plane cleaning company, and all five deceased individuals were employees of the company.
Professional Ocean Service Corp. expressed condolences and refrained from commenting on the crash out of respect for the affected families. The company emphasized the deep bond among its employees and their families, offering thoughts and prayers to those impacted by the tragedy.
The victims were identified by the Miami-Dade sheriff as Rolando Aleman Leon, Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo, Julio C. Pineda, Carlos Acosta Fajardo, and Javierkys Reyes Quevedo. Five other individuals sustained injuries, with two in critical condition and one in stable condition.
The investigation revealed that the Amazon cargo plane skidded approximately 396 meters past the runway’s end during landing. Despite lacking a runway excursion system, Miami International Airport complies with federal guidelines by providing a 305-meter safety buffer at the runway’s conclusion.
The ill-fated flight was conducted by 21 Air, a cargo carrier based in North Carolina. The Boeing 767 aircraft, which was 32 years old, had previously served as a passenger plane before being converted into a cargo aircraft in 2015. As the NTSB continues its investigation, two runways at Miami airport remain closed until all necessary information is collected from the crash site.