Amazon cargo plane increased power after landing before deadly Miami crash
The Amazon cargo plane that ran off a runway in Miami, Florida, killing five people on the ground, briefly increased engine power to a level normally used to abort a landing and take off again before cutting power and resuming braking, according to the NTSB.
The Boeing 767-300, operated by 21 Air for Amazon, crashed at Miami International Airport after arriving from San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Saturday afternoon. It broke through airport fences and struck a van carrying seven contract airline cleaners as well as a passing SUV on Northwest 67th Avenue.
Five people were killed and five others were injured, including three who remain in critical condition. The two pilots were the only people aboard the cargo plane.
At a briefing Tuesday, the NTSB said flight recorder data showed that the plane touched down at 158 knots, or about 182 mph. Its brakes were applied but released eight seconds later, when it was still traveling at about 138 mph.
The engines were then increased to a level normally used for a go-around, when pilots abandon a landing and try to take off again. Four seconds later, the engines were reduced to idle and braking resumed.
The plane was still traveling at 75 mph when the recorder stopped. Investigators said the data showed changes in the aircraft’s movement seconds earlier, but they have not said what caused them.
There was no indication that the plane’s speed brakes or thrust reversers, systems used to help slow an aircraft after landing, were deployed, according to the NTSB.
Investigators will interview both pilots Wednesday before releasing a readout from the cockpit voice recorder, which captured more than two hours of audio. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
