Abstract:
The Amazon cargo plane crashed at Miami International Airport on Sunday, according to a recording of the flight's final moments. The plane touched down too fast, and a pilot called to abort the landing. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released relevant details of the plane's cockpit voice recorder on Wednesday night, restoring a series of events leading up to the accident: the plane overran the runway and hit two vehicles. The five victims and five injured in the accident were all in these two vehicles.
The NTSB said that when the plane obtained landing permission and approached the runway, a pilot "cautioned that the plane was going too fast." Subsequently, the onboard computer issued two electronic alarms of "Excessive Descent Rate" in succession, indicating that the aircraft was sinking too fast; at the same time, it also sounded five voice warnings of "Too Low Terrain".
The NTSB said the recorder then recorded what appeared to be a grounding noise, followed by a pilot calling a go-around. A go-around is the operational process of abandoning the landing, raising the altitude again, and adjusting the attitude to prepare for another approach. Five seconds later, the recorder captured the sound of the plane leaving the paved runway, the NTSB said.
Prime Air Flight 7598, operated by subcontractor 21 Aviation LLC, overran the ramp runway after arriving from Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Boeing 767 continued taxiing about a quarter mile beyond the paved runway, struck airport navigation equipment and then slammed into two vehicles.
The plane left the runway and hit a white Ford Econoline van, which was shattered into pieces. The truck was transporting a seven-person cleaning team within the airport boundary. The plane then hit a Toyota small SUV traveling on the road outside the airport fence.
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