NTSB releases cockpit recordings showing Amazon cargo plane pilots warned of excessive speed before crash
Cockpit voice and flight data recordings reveal that one pilot repeatedly warned the other about high speed during the landing of an Amazon cargo Boeing 767, which overran a Miami runway and struck a van, killing five workers.
Flight data and cockpit voice recordings released by the National Transportation Safety Board show that a pilot of an Amazon cargo Boeing 767 repeatedly warned his counterpart that the aircraft was approaching the runway too fast. The warnings continued for nearly two minutes, but the other pilot did not give a consistent verbal response, according to a summary of the recordings.
The aircraft touched down far down the 9,360-foot runway, briefly attempted to take off again, and then overran the runway end, colliding with a van carrying five workers from a plane-cleaning company. All five occupants of the van died, and five other people were injured, two of them remaining in critical condition.
"You have plenty of time to slow down, plenty of time to say, let's just do a go-around at two minutes out," former FAA official Mike O'Donnell said, noting that the crew could have extended spoilers, reduced thrust, lowered the landing gear or aborted the approach.
Data from the flight recorder indicated the plane was unstable on approach amid strong winds, and the crew briefly disengaged the brakes and increased thrust as if attempting a go-around before abandoning the maneuver after four seconds. Automated warnings about descent speed and terrain were also captured.
Aviation experts said the crew should have aborted the landing while still airborne. Former airline pilot Steve Arroyo said the recordings suggest a lack of coordination in the cockpit, while former Transportation Department Inspector General Mary Schiavo questioned whether seniority dynamics may have prevented the junior pilot from challenging the approach.
The 32-year-old Boeing 767, originally built for passenger service and converted to cargo in 2015, was operated by 21 Air, a North Carolina-based carrier that has handled Amazon shipments since 2024. Investigators will examine the aircraft’s maintenance history, weather conditions, and operational practices as part of the ongoing probe.