An Amazon-branded Boeing 767-300 cargo plane overran a runway while landing at Miami International Airport on Sept. 6, killing five people on the ground and injuring five others. The aircraft was operating as 21 Air Flight 7598, arriving from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The National Transportation Safety Board has released preliminary flight-recorder findings but has not determined a probable cause.
The plane overran runway 30 around 1:53 p.m. ET and traveled roughly 1,300 feet (400 meters) past the paved runway surface, the NTSB said. It struck a Ford Econoline van carrying seven employees of Professional Ocean Service Corporation, an airline cleaning contractor, then broke through the airport perimeter fence and hit a Toyota Corolla Cross SUV on a city street. The aircraft caught fire and was damaged.
All five people killed were occupants of the van, according to the Miami-Dade County Sheriff's Office. The sheriff identified the victims as Rolando Aleman Leon, 55; Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo, 53; Julio C. Pineda, 75; Carlos Acosta Fajardo, 53; and Javierkys Reyes Quevedo, 47. Five people were injured, including both pilots, who have since been released from the hospital.
Video recorded by a witness and shared by local media shows the damaged aircraft after it came to rest, with a pilot escaping through a door near the cockpit as the plane burst into flames. Separately, footage released by the NTSB shows investigators examining the wreckage and debris field.
A summary of the cockpit voice recorder released by the NTSB indicates that one pilot cautioned the other that the aircraft was going too fast, and made additional comments about excessive speed throughout the remainder of the recording. The NTSB said there was "not a consistent verbal response" to those comments. A pilot called for a go-around about 15 seconds before the recording ended.
Flight data recorder information shows the nose and right main landing gear touched down at a groundspeed of 158 knots. The NTSB said there was no indication in the recorded data that speed brakes or thrust reversers — devices used to slow an aircraft after landing — were deployed. Investigator-in-charge Chihoon Shin said it was not clear why they were not used.
Amazon said it had suspended its partnership with cargo carrier 21 Air after reviewing circumstances surrounding the crash. "We've decided to pause our operations with 21 Air, the operator of Flight 7598," spokesperson Kelly Nantel said, adding that Amazon would use other carriers and continue supporting the investigation. North Carolina-based 21 Air said it was cooperating with the NTSB and other authorities.
The NTSB said its investigation would examine crew training, company procedures, air traffic control communications, aircraft components and weather conditions. Weather at the time was described as light thunderstorms and gusting winds. The full cockpit voice recording transcript has not been released, and a final report with safety recommendations is expected to take a year or more.
What is confirmed: the runway overrun, the five fatalities in the cleaning-crew van, the preliminary recorder data showing speed warnings and undeployed braking devices, and Amazon's suspension of 21 Air operations. What remains unknown: why the speed brakes and thrust reversers were not deployed, why the landing was not aborted earlier, and what role weather or other factors played. What is awaited: the NTSB's full findings, probable cause determination and safety recommendations.