Amazon Air cargo plane flew nearly half of Miami runway before fatal landing, NTSB says

Washington —

An Amazon Air cargo plane that left the runway in Miami last month landed only nearly ¾ of a mile from the threshold and the captain only attempted to abort the landing when only 930 feet of pavement remained, the National Transportation Safety Board revealed Thursday.

The preliminary report sheds new light on how an unstable landing at too high a speed proved fatal.

Five people were killed when the Boeing 767, operated by the all-cargo carrier 21Air, overran the runway at Miami International Airport on September 6, hitting several vehicles, catching fire and sending a thick plume of black smoke into the air. Three people were seriously injured and the two pilots suffered minor injuries, the NTSB said.

The report also identifies, for the first time, that it was the captain flying the Boeing 767 and the first officer who repeatedly warned him that the plane was coming too fast. There was “no consistent verbal response” from the captain to the warnings about speed, investigators said.

The plane was about 105 feet above the ground and traveling more than 200 mph when it crossed the runway threshold, according to tracking data and the plane’s black box, the NTSB said.

The plane flew over 40 percent of the runway before finally landing about 3,750 feet beyond the start of the roadway, at about 185 mph. An additional 2,880 feet were traveled before the weight of the aircraft rested entirely on the ground.

Data from the black box and the position of controls in the cockpit show that speed brakes and thrust reversers, which redirect air to slow the plane, were not used.

The pilot applied wheel brakes, but removed his feet from the pedals and requested a “go-around” to abort the landing with less than 1,000 feet of runway remaining. Four seconds later he started trying to stop again, but it was too late.

The plane overshot the departure end of the runway and struck navigation equipment and airport lights at approximately 185 mph. It struck a Ford Econoline van, where five people were killed, then a Toyota Corolla Cross SUV before finally igniting about 1,200 feet beyond the end of the paved surface, the NTSB said.

The pilot jumped out of the plane through the left door while the co-pilot exited through a cockpit window.

The plane, the pilots and air traffic control

The Sept. 6 flight from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Miami was the third flight of the day for the plane and the second for the pilots flying it.

The captain had 7,267 hours of flight experience, but only 150 hours on the Boeing 767, according to investigators. The co-pilot had 2,800 hours of flight experience and 800 hours on 767s.

The air traffic controller manning the flight in the control tower at the time of the crash had only been on duty for 17 minutes when the crash occurred, the NTSB said. They had a total of 11 years of experience and were certified in 2019 to cover this part of Miami International Airport.

Investigators said the controller did not give the pilots wind information when they cleared the plane to land, as required. An FAA order, noted by the NTSB, requires that wind direction and speed be indicated when authorizing the use of a runway when tailwinds exist.

The aircraft was landing in the northwest and winds at the time of the accident were from the south at approximately 20 km/h and gusting up to 30 km/h.

21Air, which operated the plane for Amazon Air, said it was reviewing the preliminary report and working closely with the NTSB on the investigation.

“Since the accident, our focus has been on supporting everyone affected, including providing resources to those who were injured, the loved ones of those who lost their lives, as well as our colleagues and business partners,” a 21Air statement said. “We will take all appropriate measures to improve our security based on the facts as they become established.”

Amazon Air suspended operations with 21Air after the crash.

The NTSB has not yet identified the cause of the accident, which typically takes more than a year to determine.

The investigation aims to identify what happened and why. It does not assign blame or any sort of criminal liability, but rather focuses on preventing an accident from happening again.