Amazon cargo jet crash: Black boxes recovered as investigators begin search for answers

A devastating crash at Miami airport

Investigators have recovered the flight recorders from the Amazon cargo plane that crashed at Miami International Airport, as the grim priority remains recovering the victims.

Five people were killed and five others seriously injured when the Boeing 767-300, operated by 21 Air, overran the runway shortly before 2pm local time on Sunday.

The aircraft smashed through airport equipment and a perimeter fence before colliding with two vehicles.

The crash scene has been described by the National Transportation Safety Board as “devastating.”

The final journey

The aircraft had two crew members aboard and was arriving from San Juan, Puerto Rico, on its third flight of the day.

After running beyond the runway, it struck navigational equipment before hitting a white Ford van belonging to a contract cleaning company.

It then continued through the perimeter fence and slammed into a Toyota Corolla before finally coming to rest around 1,300ft beyond the runway.

The force of the impact scattered aircraft wreckage, vehicles and airport debris across the area.

Black boxes could hold the answers

The flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder have now been recovered and will be sent to NTSB headquarters for detailed examination.

But investigators are warning against jumping to conclusions.

NTSB chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said the investigation remains firmly in the fact-finding stage, with teams still collecting evidence at the crash site.

The recorders could eventually provide crucial information about what happened inside the cockpit and how the aircraft was performing during the landing.

Investigators are looking at everything

The NTSB investigation will examine the aircraft's flight history, the crew's experience and training, radar information and the plane's performance.

Separate teams will examine the engines and aircraft systems.

Meteorologists will also investigate the weather conditions at the time.

That could prove particularly important.

BBC analysis found that an active thunderstorm was close to the airport shortly before the crash, with winds gusting to around 26 knots.

But investigators have stressed that the presence of bad weather does not establish that weather caused the crash.

Could the runway have stopped it?

One of the most significant questions may eventually concern the runway itself.

The NTSB says it will examine whether the runway should have been equipped with an engineered materials arresting system, or EMAS.

The system is designed to slow down and stop aircraft that run beyond the end of a runway.

Homendy described that as a key part of the investigation.

It could therefore become an important question not only about what caused Sunday's accident, but about whether anything could have been done to reduce its consequences.

Victims come before the investigation

For now, however, the NTSB says the investigation can wait.

The priority is recovering those who died.

Homendy said investigators would protect the evidence while allowing first responders to concentrate on the recovery operation.

She also appealed to members of the public who may have photographs or video of the aircraft before or during the crash to provide them to investigators.

Even apparently insignificant footage can sometimes help reconstruct the final seconds of a flight.

Miami faces continuing disruption

The crash has also caused major disruption at one of America's busiest airports.

Two of Miami International's four runways remained closed following the accident, with passengers warned to expect further delays.

The timing could hardly have been worse, coming during the Labor Day holiday weekend, one of the busiest travel periods in the United States.

Airlines have already faced cancellations and knock-on problems involving aircraft and crews.

The question investigators now have to answer

For now, there is no confirmed explanation for why the Boeing 767 failed to stop.

Was it weather?

Was there a problem with the aircraft?

Was there a problem during the approach or landing?

Or was it a combination of factors?

The NTSB will spend months working through those questions.

And Homendy made clear why the investigation matters.

The objective is not simply to explain what happened in Miami.

It is to make sure it doesn't happen again.

SOURCE

Voice recording from the black box.

“First Officer: Alexa, land this aircraft for me”

NTSB says all victims were in the 2 vehicles hit

Homendy said the flight, Amazon Air Flight 7598, was a Boeing 767-33 Alpha operated by 21 Air LLC. It had arrived from San Juan, Puerto Rico, and was on its third flight of the day, having gone from Cincinnati to Miami, then Miami to San Juan and back to Miami. 

The plane overran runway 30 on landing, struck navigational aids and hit a 2012 white Ford Econoline van owned by the Professional Ocean Service Corporation, a contract cleaning company for the airlines, Homendy said. Seven people were inside the van at the time.

SOURCE

"Was it weather?

Was there a problem with the aircraft?

Was there a problem during the approach or landing?

Or was it a combination of factors?"

Or was it the pilots fault , RIP the dead

regards worgeordie

1 hour ago, worgeordie said:

"Was it weather?

Was there a problem with the aircraft?

Was there a problem during the approach or landing?

Or was it a combination of factors?"

Or was it the pilots fault , RIP the dead

regards worgeordie

Watch Blancolirio's YouTube. He's got a great explanation. With videos and radar and speed data. Of course, it's not definitive until the NTSB lady sings or something like that.

Spoiler alert... Not looking good for the pilots.