Data shows pilot repeatedly warned of excessive speed before deadly Amazon cargo plane crash
Flight data released by the NTSB shows one pilot repeatedly warned about excessive speed before the Amazon Prime Air cargo plane crash that killed five people on the ground.
The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released flight data from the Amazon Prime Air Flight 7598 cargo plane crash, detailing the aircraft's speed, altitude and flap deployment as it approached the runway.
A summary of the cockpit conversation included in the update shows that one pilot's warnings about excessive speed continued throughout the remainder of the recording, while the other pilot's verbal responses were inconsistent. The data also revealed that an automated "sink rate" warning sounded during the final minutes, alerting the crew to a dangerously fast descent, followed by a "too low terrain" alert warning that the aircraft was flying too close to the ground without being properly configured for landing.
Aviation attorney Pablo Rojas told CBS News, the BBC's US partner, that without the actual cockpit recording it is hard to know exactly what NTSB meant by the inconsistent response, but the data confirms the approach was effectively doomed from early on. He also pointed to the flap deployment data as a potential concern, explaining that flaps on the rear of the wings help slow an aircraft for a gentle landing. According to Rojas, the flaps were deployed relatively late in the sequence of events, possibly because the pilots were reacting to flying too fast.
After overshooting the runway, the plane struck ground equipment, hit a white Ford van, tore through a perimeter fence and collided with a Toyota Corolla before coming to rest about 1,300ft (394m) past the runway. The five people killed were members of a plane-cleaning crew who were in the van. Miami authorities on Tuesday named them as Rolando Aleman Leon, 55; Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo, 53; Julio C Pineda, 75; Carlos Acosta Fajardo, 53; and Javierkys Reyes Quevedo, 47.
