The Amazon cargo plane involved in the tragic Miami runway accident that claimed five lives had its pilot issue repeated warnings about the excessive speed nearly two minutes before the crash. The cockpit recordings, disclosed by investigators, revealed the pilot’s last-second plea to abort the landing. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) shared some insights from the recordings following interviews with both pilots, with the full transcript to be released later. Notably, the co-pilot did not consistently acknowledge the speed alerts.
The ill-fated Amazon aircraft approached the runway at high speed on Sunday afternoon, overshooting the landing by approximately 400 meters. The plane collided with a van carrying workers from a plane-cleaning company, then struck a compact SUV before igniting as it skidded across a public road. Tragically, all five fatalities occurred in the van, while five others sustained injuries, with two individuals remaining in critical condition as of Tuesday. Fortunately, the two pilots survived the crash.
Reflecting on the moment the pilot first identified the speeding issue, former FAA official Mike O’Donnell suggested various measures that could have been taken to decelerate the aircraft, such as deploying spoilers, reducing throttle, or extending the landing gear. O’Donnell emphasized that the crew had adequate time to address the situation or opt for a go-around maneuver to make another landing attempt.