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A pilot aboard an Amazon cargo plane issued repeated warnings regarding the aircraft's excessive speed shortly before it overshot a runway, struck ground vehicles, and was engulfed in flames at Miami International Airport, according to newly disclosed federal investigative findings.
The disaster, which occurred on Sunday and involved a Boeing 767-300 freighter operating as Amazon Prime Air Flight 7598, claimed the lives of five people on the ground and left five others injured. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is spearheading the federal investigation into the incident, released an update containing critical flight data recorder parameters and cockpit voice recording summaries.
According to the NTSB investigation update, one of the two cockpit crew members repeatedly alerted the other to the jet's elevated airspeed as they lined up for landing. However, the recorded interactions revealed that these critical warnings failed to generate a consistent verbal reply from the operating crew member, even as emergency flight deck alarms began sounding.
Investigators noted that the cockpit dialogue revealed persistent cautions regarding velocity across the final recorded moments of the flight. Despite these repeated reminders about the plane travelling too fast, the absence of a steady, coherent verbal exchange remained a defining feature of the crew's communication during the critical descent phase.
Data extracted from the aircraft's onboard systems confirmed that the widebody Boeing 767-300 touched down at a landing speed of 158 knots, or roughly 292 kilometers per hour. Aviation analysts and safety experts have emphasized that such a figure sits on the unusually high end of acceptable operational thresholds for landing this category of aircraft.
The comprehensive information released by the NTSB encompasses detailed metrics regarding the jet's speed, flight trajectory, altitude measurements, and the precise mechanical timing of wing flap deployments as the aircraft made its final run toward the runway threshold.
Among the key automated warnings logged during the plane's final minutes was an electronic "sink rate sink rate" cockpit alert. This automated flight system warning is designed to alert pilots whenever an aircraft is descending toward the ground at a rate considered dangerously rapid for safe operational limits.
In addition to the descent rate caution, the cockpit voice recorder captured a computerized "too low terrain" callout. This specific automated safety warning triggers when an aircraft's proximity to the ground is dangerously close while the jet is not yet properly configured for a standard landing approach.
Aviation attorney Pablo Rojas, speaking in an interview with CBS News, pointed out that while it remains difficult to fully interpret the cockpit dynamics without hearing the raw audio, the NTSB's note regarding the inconsistent verbal responses highlights a breakdown in communication during a crucial phase of flight.
Reviewing the sequence of events documented by federal investigators, Rojas remarked that the gathered evidence strongly indicates the crew was managing what amounted to a doomed landing approach from the outset.
The timing of the mechanical wing flap deployment has also emerged as a significant area of scrutiny for investigators. Flaps, mounted along the trailing edge of the wings, serve as vital aerodynamic surfaces that create necessary drag and lift, allowing heavy commercial jets to decelerate and maintain stable control during a gentle approach to the tarmac.
According to Rojas, flight data revealed that the deployment of the flaps occurred substantially later in the accident sequence than standard procedures dictate. He suggested that this delayed configuration might reflect an eleventh-hour attempt by the flight crew to urgently shed excess speed once they realized the jet was coming in too fast.
The catastrophic sequence culminated when the cargo jet failed to halt on the runway surface, overrunning the paved landing strip at high speed. The aircraft initially slammed into airport ground support equipment before colliding heavily with an occupied white Ford van positioned in the area.
Continuing its destructive path beyond the airport's designated operational zone, the aircraft plowed through a perimeter security fence and collided with a passenger car, identified as a Toyota Corolla. The wreckage finally ground to a halt approximately 1,300 feet (394 meters) past the end of the runway, where it burst into flames.
Local authorities in Miami on Tuesday officially confirmed the identities of the five individuals who were killed in the collision. All five victims were members of an aircraft cleaning crew who were sitting inside the white Ford van struck by the jet: Rolando Aleman Leon, 55; Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo, 53; Julio C Pineda, 75; Carlos Acosta Fajardo, 53; and Javierkys Reyes Quevedo, 47.
The NTSB's comprehensive inquiry into Amazon Prime Air Flight 7598 remains ongoing, as investigators continue to analyze technical components, flight data, and crew actions to determine the precise sequence of events that led to the fatal runway overrun.
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