Co-pilot warned of excessive speed before deadly Amazon plane crash in Miami
The co-pilot of an Amazon cargo plane repeatedly warned that the aircraft was flying too fast before it ran off a runway in Miami, Florida, killing five people on the ground, according to a preliminary NTSB report. Cockpit recordings also captured repeated warnings about its descent rate and proximity to terrain.
The crash happened at about 1:53 p.m. on September 6 at Miami International Airport. The Boeing 767-300, operated by 21 Air as flight 7598 on behalf of Amazon, had arrived from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The captain was flying the plane while the first officer monitored the flight. The two pilots had flown together for the first time earlier that day, on the outbound flight from Miami to San Juan, according to their interviews with investigators.
The cockpit voice recorder captured the first officer cautioning that the plane was too fast about a minute and 42 seconds before the recording ended. He continued commenting on its excessive speed throughout the remainder of the recording.
“There was not a consistent verbal response to the comments about speed,” the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said in its report.
The recording also captured two “sink rate” alerts and repeated “too low terrain” warnings during the final approach. The captain called for the wing flaps to be set to 30 degrees shortly before touchdown.
Flight data showed the aircraft crossed the runway’s landing threshold about 105 feet above the ground at 177 knots, or about 204 mph. It touched down approximately 3,750 feet beyond the threshold at 160 knots, or about 184 mph.
A landing gear sensor alternated between indicating that the plane was airborne and on the ground for about seven seconds. It then continuously registered ground contact when approximately 2,730 feet of runway remained.
The plane’s speed brakes remained stowed and its thrust reversers did not deploy during the landing or rollout. Both systems help slow an aircraft after landing.
The captain called for a go-around after touchdown, an attempt to abandon the landing and take off again. Flight data showed that the wheel brakes were released and the engine controls increased to go-around settings with only about 930 feet of runway remaining.
Four seconds later, the engine controls returned to idle and braking resumed, with approximately 415 feet of runway left. The plane crossed the runway’s end at 113 knots, or about 130 mph, and struck navigation and approach-lighting equipment before continuing onto grass.
The aircraft hit a Ford Econoline van on an airport perimeter road before breaking through a fence and crossing Northwest 67th Avenue, where it struck a Toyota Corolla Cross SUV.
Five of the van’s seven occupants were killed and two were seriously injured. The SUV’s sole occupant also suffered serious injuries. Both pilots sustained minor injuries and escaped, the captain through a cabin door and the first officer through the right cockpit window.
The report also found that the tower controller cleared the flight to land without providing wind information. FAA procedures required controllers to state wind direction and speed when authorizing use of a runway with a tailwind component.
The controller had provided wind information to another flight about four minutes earlier, but the cargo plane was not on that radio frequency at the time. Weather observations around the crash recorded thunderstorms and winds gusting to 26 knots, or about 30 mph.
During the wreckage examination, investigators found the flap lever at 25 degrees, with measurements of the wing components consistent with that setting. Brake wear measurements showed remaining service life on all eight wheels.
The runway was not equipped with an engineered arresting system designed to slow aircraft that overrun its end. The NTSB has not determined the cause of the crash.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
