Pilot Warned Amazon Cargo Plane of Excessive Speed Before Crash, Data Shows
BBC News
A pilot onboard an Amazon cargo plane that crashed in Miami, Florida, on Sunday noted it was going too fast before it overshot a runway, crashed into other vehicles, and burst into flames, new flight data shows.
The investigation update from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) revealed that one pilot warned the other multiple times about "the aircraft’s excessive speed," but received only inconsistent verbal responses.
The Boeing 767-300’s landing speed was 158 knots (292 km/h), considered high by experts.
The NTSB is leading the investigation into the crash that killed five people and injured five more.
The flight data released included the plane’s speed, altitude, flap deployment, and other critical details. The summary of cockpit conversation noted the pilot’s speed warnings throughout the approach, along with inconsistent responses and automated safety warnings about descent rate and terrain proximity.
Aviation attorney Pablo Rojas noted that without the actual recording, it’s difficult to interpret the NTSB’s findings about inconsistent verbal responses. However, he agreed that the data suggests a "doomed approach."
He also pointed to the timing of flap deployment, which happened later in the sequence, potentially indicating the pilots were trying to slow down due to their speed.
After overshooting the runway, the plane struck equipment, a Ford van, a Toyota Corolla, and eventually came to rest about 1,300 feet beyond the runway. The five fatalities were members of a plane-cleaning crew in the van.
