By Rajwa Quasim
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) plans to release the readout from cockpit voice recorder of the Amazon cargo flight that killed five people as the plane overshot the runway hitting parked vehicles. The federal investigators are expected to interview the two pilots of the plane, following which they will release the readout.
The plane involved, a Boeing 767-300, was operated by North Carolina-based charter company 21 Air. The crash happened shortly before 2 p.m. local time on Sunday, after the plane failed to stop within the runway boundaries. It struck a Ford Econoline van owned by a company that provides aircraft cleaning services, with seven people inside and then broke the perimeter fence and then struck a Toyota SUV with three inside before coming to rest near a park serving an Amazon warehouse and other businesses and catching fire.
The five people killed in the crash were occupants of the cleaning service van. The victims were identified by the Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office as: Rolando Aleman Leon, 55; Yoel Rodriguez Narajo, 53; Julio C. Pineda, 75; Carlos Acosta Fajardo, 53; and Javierkys Reyes Quevedo, 47.
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NTSB has recovered both the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder of the plane. Investigators said that the voice recorder contains about “two hours of good quality audio” and roughly 55 hours of information. The acquired data could provide important clues about the crew’s actions and communications during the landing.
NTSB investigator Chihoon Shin said: “Fifteen seconds before the end of recording, brakes were released at a ground speed of 120 knots. Throttles increased to values consistent with around thrust. A few seconds later, brakes were reapplied and continued to be applied until the end of the recording, but there was no indication that speed brakes or thrust reversers were deployed.” Those systems are designed to help slow an aircraft after landing.
The two pilots survived the crash and have been released from the hospital. NTSB plans to interview both pilots to understand the incident from their account before releasing the readout.
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During the time of landing, heavy gusty winds were reported. Amazon and 21 Air have confirmed that both the companies will fully coordinate with the investigators.
Lawyers representing a victim’s widow said they believe the tragedy was preventable and vowed to pursue legal action against those responsible and attain justice to the victim’s family.
The aviation experts said that with the detailed analysis of the incident using the plane’s voice recorder, crew experience, weather as potential factors and other data will help in identifying the cause of the incident.
The crash occurred during one of the busiest travel periods of the year, Labor Day weekend. The plane was flying from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Miami and was carrying about 32,000 pounds of mostly contact lenses, as per NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy.