Black-box review documents repeated speed and terrain warnings

MIAMI — One pilot aboard 21 Air Flight 7598 repeatedly warned that the Amazon Prime Air cargo jet was traveling too fast before and after it touched down at Miami International Airport, according to preliminary cockpit-voice and flight-data information released by the National Transportation Safety Board and reported Wednesday night by the Associated Press and Reuters.

The NTSB summary says the first speed warning came a little more than a minute before touchdown. Additional comments about excessive speed continued through the remainder of the recording, but the other pilot did not provide a consistent verbal response. The summary does not identify the speakers as the captain or first officer, so assigning either statement to a named crew member would go beyond the evidence released.

Automated alerts also sounded before touchdown. Reuters reports that the recording captured two “sink rate” warnings as the aircraft descended 400 feet in four seconds, followed by five “too low terrain” alerts. Those recorded warnings establish what the crew heard; they do not, by themselves, explain the crew's decisions or determine the cause of the crash.

A brief attempt to abort came after touchdown

The Boeing 767 had already touched down when, 15 seconds later, one pilot called for aborting the landing, according to the NTSB information reported by Reuters. The throttles increased to values consistent with go-around thrust, which would be used to return the aircraft to flight and attempt another approach.

Four seconds later, the throttles returned to idle. The recording then captured sounds consistent with the aircraft leaving the paved surface. Earlier flight-data disclosures showed no recorded indication that the speed brakes or thrust reversers deployed to help slow the jet.

These data points are serious and materially change what is publicly known about the last moments of the landing. They still do not establish whether crew action, aircraft systems, weather, training, maintenance, runway conditions or a combination of factors caused the overrun.

All five people killed were airport cleaning workers in a van

Flight 7598 overran Runway 30 by approximately 1,300 feet on Sunday afternoon, struck a van carrying seven workers from an aircraft-cleaning company, crossed the airport perimeter and hit a compact SUV on a public road before catching fire, according to the NTSB account reported by AP and Reuters.

All five people who died were inside the van, AP reports. Five other people were injured, including two who remained in critical condition Tuesday. The two pilots survived and were interviewed by NTSB investigators Wednesday.

The Federal Aviation Administration identified the aircraft as a Boeing 767-300 cargo plane arriving from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The crash occurred at approximately 1:53 p.m. Eastern time September 6.

The operator, aircraft and landing environment remain under review

The flight carried packages for Amazon but was operated by 21 Air, a North Carolina-based cargo carrier that began flying for the company in 2024, AP reports. The aircraft was 32 years old, originally built as a passenger jet and converted to cargo service in 2015. Age alone is not evidence of a defect or cause.

Investigators are expected to review the jet's maintenance and ownership history, 21 Air's operations and training, the flight crew's actions, recorded aircraft parameters, weather and airport conditions. AP reports that strong winds were present as storms moved into the area, but the NTSB has not determined that weather caused or contributed to the overrun.

The captain received a Boeing 767 type rating in May and had 7,145 total flight hours; the first officer received the rating in April 2025 and had 2,655 hours, according to NTSB information reported by Reuters. Those experience figures are context—not a finding of competence, fault or causation.

Runway safeguards are part of the inquiry, not a ready-made verdict

Miami International Airport did not have an engineered materials arresting system, or EMAS, at the runway end involved, according to earlier reporting. The FAA describes EMAS as a bed of lightweight, crushable material designed to slow an aircraft that overruns a runway.

The absence of EMAS does not by itself establish that the airport violated a safety requirement or that such a system would have prevented the deaths. Investigators need the aircraft's speed and path, runway-safety records and engineering analysis before drawing those conclusions.

The crash initially disrupted hundreds of flights. Operations later resumed, but the investigation continues after the emergency phase ended.

Probable cause remains undetermined

The NTSB disclosures are preliminary. They do not constitute the board's preliminary report or probable-cause determination, and the full cockpit transcript will not be released until later in the investigation. Outside experts cited by AP and Reuters questioned why the crew continued an unstable approach, but those assessments are not findings by the board.

Amazon and 21 Air have expressed condolences and said they are cooperating. The families and public deserve a documented explanation based on the full record—not a rush to convert disturbing recorder details into a final verdict.

The accompanying image is an authentic April 2018 photograph of Amazon Prime Air Boeing 767-300 N307AZ at Tampa. It shows the same general aircraft type and commercial network but a different airplane; it does not depict Flight 7598, Miami International Airport, the crash, victims, damage or investigators. Photographer formulanone licensed it under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 through Wikimedia Commons.

Sources and further reading

Associated Press: At least five dead after Amazon cargo plane overruns Miami runway ↗

Associated Press: Investigators detail plans for Miami cargo-crash inquiry ↗

Associated Press: Cockpit recording shows repeated speed warnings before fatal overrun ↗

Reuters: At least five killed in Amazon Prime Air cargo-plane crash ↗

Reuters: NTSB details speed and terrain warnings before Miami cargo crash ↗

CBS News Miami: Five dead and five injured after runway overrun ↗

NTSB: Aviation investigation resources ↗

FAA: How engineered materials arresting systems stop runway overruns ↗

Wikimedia Commons: Amazon Prime Air Boeing 767 file photograph and CC BY-SA 2.0 license ↗