RismadarVoice Reporters
September 9, 2026
Investigators have found evidence suggesting that pilots of an Amazon Prime Air cargo plane considered aborting their landing attempt shortly after touching down before the aircraft overran the runway and crashed at Miami International Airport, the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has said.
The 32-year-old Boeing 767 cargo aircraft, operated by Miami-based 21 Air, crashed on Sunday after leaving the runway by about 1,300 feet (396 metres), colliding with two vehicles. The crash killed five people and injured five others.
According to the NTSB, data recovered from the aircraft’s flight data recorder indicated that the pilots made a late attempt to return the aircraft into the air after the plane had already touched down.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said the investigation showed that the aircraft’s nose landing gear and right main landing gear touched down about 30 seconds before the end of the recording at a speed of 158 knots, while the left main landing gear touched down 19 seconds before the recording ended at 134 knots.
Investigators said that shortly after touchdown, the aircraft’s brakes were released and the throttles were increased to levels consistent with go-around thrust, suggesting the pilots may have attempted to abort the landing.
However, about 11 seconds before the recording ended, the throttles were reduced to idle power, and the brakes were reapplied. The aircraft’s final recorded ground speed was 65 knots.
The NTSB said there was no indication from the available data that speed brakes or thrust reversers were deployed to assist in slowing the aircraft.
Homendy said investigators would interview both pilots and later release additional information from the cockpit voice recorder as part of the ongoing investigation.
A team of 32 NTSB investigators is currently examining the crash site at Miami International Airport. One of the two runways closed following the accident was partially reopened on Tuesday to allow some flight operations to resume.
The aircraft was completing its third flight of the day when the crash occurred. The cargo plane had previously travelled from Cincinnati to Miami and later from Miami to San Juan, Puerto Rico, before returning to Miami, where the accident happened at about 1:53 p.m. local time.
The NTSB said the captain, aged 55, received his Boeing 767 type rating in May and had accumulated 7,145 flight hours. The first officer, aged 37, received the same aircraft rating in April 2025 and had 2,655 flight hours.
Investigators have not yet determined the cause of the crash, with the agency continuing to examine the aircraft’s systems, weather conditions, runway conditions, pilot actions and other factors that may have contributed to the accident.
The final findings will be released after the completion of the full investigation.
