The Amazon Prime Air crash in Miami that killed five people on Sunday has moved quickly into a technical investigation, with data from the recovered flight recorders pointing to a sequence of speed warnings, brake applications and a last-second go-around attempt that the Boeing 767-300 freighter could not survive. The aircraft, registration N1997A, overran the runway at Miami International Airport, struck two vehicles and erupted in heavy flames, according to authorities.
What the recorders show about the Amazon Prime Air crash in Miami
According to CNN, thirty seconds before the flight data recording ended, with the aircraft travelling at more than 180 mph, two of the landing gears (the back right and nose wheels) touched down on the runway. That sequence matters because it is not the standard two-point or three-point contact investigators would expect on a stabilised approach.
Chihoon Shin, the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) lead investigator for the crash, described subsequent events at a Tuesday press conference. The brakes were applied once the right gear was down; the left gear followed seconds later. Around 15 seconds before the flight data recording ended, the brakes were released and the throttles were advanced to levels consistent with a go-around, an attempt to abort the landing and climb away. Eleven seconds before the recording ended, the brakes were applied again. At that point the aircraft was still moving at 65 knots, or roughly 74 miles per hour.
Separately, USA Today reported that one of the pilots repeatedly commented on the aircraft’s excessive speed during the final one minute and 42 seconds of the cockpit voice recording. NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy said the board would release a full readout of the cockpit voice recorder on Wednesday.
The plane was travelling at 112 knots as it exited the usable portion of the runway and the perimeter fence, according to data from Flightradar24, ultimately coming to rest about 1,300 feet past the pavement in an area where Tesla robotaxis were stationed. Weather data show there were thunderstorms and gusting winds at the time.
Five killed in cleaning van; investigation now at 32 strong
The five fatalities were all inside a Ford Econoline van owned by an airline contract cleaning company, which had seven occupants in total. The van was one of two vehicles struck by the freighter as it left the runway. The other was a Toyota Corolla Cross travelling on a nearby road off the airport. Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz confirmed the death toll on Tuesday. Of the five injured, three were taken to a trauma centre and two to area hospitals, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said.
Homendy confirmed a team of 32 NTSB investigators is on-site. The agency has recovered both the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder, formally known as black boxes but physically coloured orange. Fuel remediation is under way before the wreckage can be fully examined.
The 55-year-old captain had over 7,000 hours of flying experience and received his type rating for the Boeing 767 in May. The first officer, 37, had about 2,600 hours and received his type rating in April 2025.
Aircraft history and the EMAS question
The aircraft itself has a long and varied history. First delivered as a passenger jet in 1994 to the now-defunct Belgian airline Sobelair, it passed through several operators before being converted into a freighter by a third party, not Amazon or Boeing, and re-entering service in 2016. That means multiple companies operated and maintained it across three decades before Sunday’s crash.
A point Homendy flagged for the investigation is whether an Engineered Materials Arresting System (EMAS) (a crushable material installed at runway ends to decelerate overrunning aircraft) would have made a difference here. Miami International does not have EMAS: its runways carry FAA-standard safety areas extending 1,000 feet beyond the runway ends, which satisfies the regulatory requirement. Airports unable to meet that standard, often because of adjacent roads or waterways, may install EMAS as an alternative. FAA data show about 120 runway ends at roughly 70 US airports have EMAS installed, and the system has stopped 26 planes carrying nearly 500 people to date.
Sunday’s crash is the second involving a 767 freighter in Amazon’s Prime Air network. In 2019, an Atlas Air aircraft flying on behalf of Amazon crashed into Trinity Bay near Houston, killing the three people on board. The NTSB attributed that accident to in-flight loss of control due to pilot error.
Miami International has partially reopened, but as of Tuesday two of its four runways remain closed. The FAA is advising passengers to expect delays of at least five hours. The NTSB’s release of the cockpit voice recorder readout is the next concrete investigative milestone on the public record.