NTSB: Pilot Warned of Excessive Speed Before Fatal Miami Amazon Plane Crash

A preliminary investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has revealed that one of the pilots aboard the Amazon Prime Air cargo plane that crashed on Sunday at Miami International Airport warned they were flying "too fast" more than a minute before touchdown, an accident that resulted in five fatalities. According to the review conducted so far, the pilot repeatedly commented on the aircraft's speed while automated warnings echoed through the cockpit, to no avail. The findings, released overnight based on cockpit voice recorder data, indicate that the second pilot did not give a clear verbal response, though it remains unclear who was acting as captain. Sunday's disaster occurred when the 32-year-old Boeing 767, operated by Miami-based 21 Air, overran the runway by approximately 396 meters and collided with two vehicles on the ground. It initially struck a van carrying five cleaning company employees who died in the accident, and subsequently hit an SUV before sliding across a public road and bursting into flames. In addition to the five fatalities, five other people were injured, including two in critical condition. Both pilots survived and were interviewed by investigators prior to the release of the cockpit voice recorder details. The preliminary probe shows that prior to touchdown, the cockpit audio captured two "sink rate" warnings. At one point, the aircraft descended approximately 120 meters in just four seconds, followed by five "too low terrain" warnings. In total, for nearly two minutes, one pilot repeatedly warned his colleague that they were flying too fast during the landing approach, continuing even after touching down. Aviation safety consultant Anthony Brickhouse noted after the release of the data that the major question is why the pilots proceeded with the approach anyway: "They had multiple cues that their approach was unstable, but they pressed on instead of executing a go-around." According to the preliminary investigation, 15 seconds after touching down, one of the pilots called to abort the landing and engine throttles were advanced to go-around thrust. At this point, the aircraft was nearing the end of the runway but still traveling at approximately 222 km/h, according to Flightradar24 data. However, four seconds later, the throttles were returned to idle, followed by sounds consistent with the aircraft veering off the paved runway surface. The NTSB stated earlier that recorded data shows no indication that air brakes (spoilers) or thrust reversers were deployed to assist in slowing the aircraft. "From what I've seen so far, there was definitely a failure in Crew Resource Management (CRM)," Brickhouse said, referring to the training pilots receive to communicate clearly and coordinate decisions in the cockpit. He added that when a pilot ignores warning signs that something is wrong, "unfortunately, bad things happen. Therefore, as an investigator, I want to know — when so many cues were available — what was their motivation? What was their thought process? Why did they continue with that approach instead of executing a go-around?" Mike O'Donnell, a former senior Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) official, pointed out that once the pilot first alerted that the aircraft was speeding, the crew could have taken several steps to slow down, including deploying air brakes, reducing throttles, and lowering the landing gear. Alternatively, the pilots could have simply aborted the landing at that stage, entered a holding pattern, and tried again. Several other experts also argued that the pilots should have aborted the landing while airborne, performed a circuit, and attempted to land again. Steve Arroyo, an airline pilot and former safety expert, stated that the revealed details point to a lack of teamwork in the cockpit, suggesting that the pilot at the controls might have been too focused on landing to heed the speed warnings. Mary Schiavo, former Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Transportation, questioned whether the pilot at the controls was the more senior captain while the less experienced co-pilot voiced the warnings, noting that "the junior pilot was not assertive enough in raising questions." The Amazon plane crash marks the second cargo plane crash in the U.S. in less than a year. In November, a UPS plane crashed at Louisville International Airport in Kentucky after losing one of its engines during takeoff acceleration, killing all three crew members and 12 people on the ground, while injuring 23 others.