Nearly a week after an Amazon cargo plane overran a runway at Miami International Airport, slamming into two vehicles, killing five people and injuring another five, people are still questioning how this happened.
Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board remain on site gathering evidence following the Sept. 6 crash. A partial summary of the cockpit recording was released, and based on that, as well as other known factors, Robert A. Clifford, an aviation attorneywith nearly 50 years' experience, said “there might be plenty of blame to go around here.”
“There’s a lot of could haves, should haves,,” Clifford told USA TODAY NETWORK in a telephone interview. “This is what we in the aviation field call graveyard engineering. Someone has
to die before we do something to prevent it from happening in the future.”
Amazon plane landing in tailwind could have contributed to Florida crash
Clifford said “classic airplane training” is that a plane lands into the wind because it gives the pilot more manual control of the aircraft.
That wasn’t the case when the Boeing 767-33A arriving from San Juan overran the diagonal runway, colliding with a van carrying seven employees from a company that cleans aircrafts and a Toyota SUV.
About four minutes before landing, the pilot checked in with the Miami air traffic control tower and was cleared to land on Runway 30. Evidence showed landing on that runway meant the plane was landing against the wind, with a tailwind.
“When you land with a tailwind, you are now being pushed by the wind. It gives you less control,” Clifford said.
Records show that at 1 minute, 42 seconds before the cockpit audio ended, the co-pilot “cautioned they were too fast.” For the remainder of the recording, the co-pilot “made additional comments regarding the aircraft's excessive speed.”
Why didn’t the Amazon pilot abort the landing and try again?
That won’t be known until NTSB officials release additional information.
The pilots were scheduled to be interviewed by investigators this week, but those details have not been made public yet. Clifford believes evidence showed the captain did consider lifting up again and doing a “go-around.”
During a news conference, NTSB officials said there was “no indication that speed brakes or thrust reversers were deployed.”
“Those are like brakes, they help you stop a plane, and they didn’t even try to use those,” Clifford said. “I think the pilot in command was debating, ‘Am I trying to go around or not.’ If you’re going to do a go-around, you’re not going to deploy those.”
Why didn’t Miami International Airport have a barrier at the end of the runway?
Roughly 72 airports nationwide have an engineered materials arrestor system, or EMAS, at the end of runways to help prevent crashes.
Miami International Airport does not. Clifford believes it should because of the airport's close proximity to traffic and lack of space.
“There needs to be at least 1,000 feet of open space beyond the runway,” Clifford said. “If someone in their right mind, whether the FAA or airport authority saw how close traffic and people are to the runway, why didn’t they install this system? They are going to study this.”
Who was killed in the deadly Amazon plane crash in Florida?
The deceased victims are: Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo, 53; Rolando Aleman Leon, 55; Julio C. Pineda, 75; Carlos Acosta Fajardo, 53; and Javierkys Reyes Quevedo, 47.
Two other people who were in the van remain hospitalized. Ridoel Averhoff Diaz, 32, is in critical condition and Roosevelt Sebastian Perdomo Torres, 36, is in stable condition, according to the sheriff’s office.
A third person, Eugenio Corredor, 79, was in a Toyota SUV that was hit by the airplane. He remains hospitalized in critical condition.
Pilots Joseph Carroll and Jaime Felipe Silva Molina were treated for injuries and released from a hospital.
Michelle Spitzer is a journalist for The USA TODAY NETWORK-FLORIDA. As the network’s Rapid Response reporter, she covers Florida’s breaking news. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at https://floridatoday.com/newsletters
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: 'Plenty of blame,' expert says about Miami's deadly Amazon plane crash
