Officials discuss pilot’s actions, words during moments before fatal cargo plane crash outside MIA

MIAMI — Investigators have revealed new details on what was being said inside the cockpit in the final moments before the deadly Amazon cargo plane crash.

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According to officials, five people were killed and five others were injured when a Boeing 767-300 overtook a runway at Miami International Airport shortly before 2 p.m. on Sunday and struck a white 2012 Ford E-150 Econoline van and a Toyota Corolla Cross LE.

According to data from the cockpit voice recorder, one pilot warned they were going too fast more than a minute before the plane first touched down on the runway.

Officials said that pilot “made additional comments regarding the aircraft’s excessive speed throughout the remainder of the recording” while adding “there was not a consistent verbal response” to those warnings.

“Fifteen seconds before the end of recording, brakes were released at a ground speed of 120 knots. Throttles increased to values consistent with go-around thrust,” NTSB lead investigator Chihoon Shin said Tuesday.

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The same cockpit recording confirmed that with just 15 seconds left in the recording, one pilot called for a go-around attempt, and just five seconds later, the plane ran off the runway.

Aviation expert Pablo Rojas said the data appears to show the crew changing course in those critical final seconds.

“That kind of hesitation is deadly in a runway like this,” he said. “First they were trying to land, slow the plane down, bring it to a halt, then they hesitated and maybe tried to do a go-around, meaning speed up again, then they made another change in their decision which was to try to land again.”

Both pilots have now been interviewed by the NTSB as investigators work to determine why the plane was traveling so fast and why the go-around attempt came so late.

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