Amazon Cargo Plane Appeared To Consider Aborting Landing Before Miami Crash, Investigators Say

The pilots of the Amazon-branded cargo plane that crashed Sunday after overshooting the runway at Miami International Airport appeared to briefly consider aborting their landing attempt, according to initial flight data released by federal investigators Tuesday night.

The plane, operated by cargo carrier 21 Air, never got back off the ground.

It instead plowed 1,300 feet off the end of the runway, across two roads, slamming into a van and an SUV, killing five people and injuring five more.

The Boeing 767's flight data recorder showed brakes were applied seven seconds after first touching down on the runway, and then eight seconds later the brakes were released and“throttles increased to values consistent with go-around thrust,” said Chihoon Shin, the National Transportation Safety Board's investigator-in-charge.

A“go-around” is a standard safety maneuver in aviation where a pilot stops a landing attempt and climbs back into the air. A go-around requires more speed and engine power, so a pilot would increase power with the plane's throttle.

Another four seconds passed before the brakes were reapplied and the throttle put into idle, Shin said.

At that point, the plane was still traveling at 117 knots, the equivalent of about 135 mph.

The recording ended 11 seconds later, Shin said.

There was“no indication in the recorded data that speed brakes or thrust reversers were deployed,” Shin said.

Shin and NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy declined to speculate about the meaning behind the flight data recordings. They said they wanted to first interview the plane's two pilots. That is set for Wednesday, Homendy said.

Attention on the plane's landing has focused on what appears to be a late and very fast approach to the Miami runway.

The jet skidded off the 9,360-foot-long runway and across a grassy area, striking a white Ford Econoline van at the edge of the airport's property before crashing through a fence and then hitting a Toyota SUV on a highway.

The five deaths were all in the van used to ferry plane-cleaning crews around the airport. The victims were identified by the Miami-Dade sheriff as Rolando Aleman Leon, 55; Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo, 53; Julio C. Pineda, 75; Carlos Acosta Fajardo, 53; and Javierkys Reyes Quevedo, 47.

The five injured included the plane's pilot and co-pilot, who suffered minor injuries and were released from the hospital, the sheriff's office said.

The sheriff's office identified them as Jaime Felipe Silva Molina, 37, and Joseph Carol, 55.

The NTSB said the 55-year-old was the plane's captain and the 37-year-old was the plane's first officer.

The NTSB also shared photos of the recovered flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder.

The plane was operated by 21 Air, based in North Carolina. The Boeing 767 was built in 1994 and originally carried passengers overseas before being converted into a cargo carrier.

It made its failed landing in Miami after leaving San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The plane was carrying more than 32,000 pounds of cargo - mostly contact lenses, the NTSB said.

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