Federal investigators are preparing to reveal critical details from the cockpit voice recorder following a devastating accident at Miami International Airport that left five people dead. NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy announced during a Tuesday evening briefing that officials have successfully recovered both the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder, noting that the latter contains two hours of high quality audio. This transcript is expected to be released on Wednesday, shortly after investigators conduct interviews with the two pilots involved in the crash.
The tragedy occurred Sunday when Amazon Air Flight 7598, arriving from Puerto Rico with approximately 32,000 pounds of contact lenses on board, overran its runway. The massive cargo plane careened off the tarmac and collided with a Ford Econoline van belonging to an aircraft cleaning company. Seven people were inside the van at the time of impact. Authorities have since identified those killed as Rolando Aleman Leon, Yoel Rodriguez Narajo, Julio C. Pineda, Carlos Acosta Fajardo, and Javierkys Reyes Quevedo. Both pilots survived and have been released from the hospital.
Preliminary analysis of the flight data suggests a confusing sequence of events leading up to the collision. Investigator Chihoon Shin explained that while the plane was initially coming in for a standard landing, throttle levels suddenly increased just seconds before the recording ended, which is consistent with a go around maneuver. While brakes were subsequently reapplied and held until the moment of impact, records show that neither speed brakes nor thrust reversers were ever deployed to slow the vessel down.
As crews continue to clear debris and inspect the wreckage of the engines near the airport perimeter, all eyes remain on the upcoming release of the voice recordings. These transcripts will likely provide essential context regarding what happened in those final moments between the crew members as they struggled to regain control of their descent onto one of Florida’s busiest runways.