Pilots considered aborting landing after touchdown in Miami cargo crash, NTSB says

• The NTSB found pilots of the Amazon Prime Air Boeing 767 considered aborting the landing after touchdown, increasing throttles briefly before braking again.
• The plane overran the runway by 396m at Miami, hitting two vehicles, killing five and injuring five on Sept 6.
• Investigators noted no use of speed brakes or thrust reversers; pilots' experience includes 7,145 and 2,655 flight hours respectively, with interviews planned for further details.

WASHINGTON - The National Transportation Safety Board said on Sept 8 that evidence recovered from a flight data recorder suggested the pilots of an Amazon Prime Air cargo plane involved in a deadly crash considered aborting the landing after the aircraft touched down.

The 32-year-old Boeing 767 operated by Miami-based 21 Air overran the runway by some 396m and crashed into two vehicles, killing five people and injuring five others on Sept 6.

NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy told reporters that investigators would interview both of the pilots on Sept 9 and then release details from the cockpit voice recorder.

The NTSB said 30 seconds before the end of the flight data recording, the nose landing gear and right main landing gear touched down on the runway at a speed of 158 knots (293kmh), while 19 seconds before the end of the recording, the left main landing gear touched down at a speed of 134 knots.

A few seconds later, the brakes were released and the throttles were increased to values consistent with go-around thrust, indicating a late attempt to abort the landing and get back in the air.

But 11 seconds before the end of the recording, throttles were reduced to idle power and brakes were reapplied.

The final ground speed was 65 knots at the end of the recording.

The NTSB said there was no indication in the recorded data that speed brakes or thrust reversers were deployed to help slow the plane.

Homendy is leading a team of 32 investigators at Miami International Airport. She said the NTSB was able to release one of two runways closed since the accident to allow for departures from an easterly direction late on Sept 8.

The Amazon cargo plane was on its third flight of the day, coming from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

It had flown from Cincinnati to Miami and from Miami to San Juan earlier on Sept 6 before the crash at 1:53pm EDT.

The captain, 55, received his type rating for the 767 in May and has 7,145 hours of flight time, while the first officer, 37, received his type rating on the 767 in April 2025 and has 2,655 flying hours, the NTSB said. REUTERS