Victims of deadly Amazon cargo plane crash identified, as two more remain critical

Officials in Florida on Tuesday stated that evidence gathered from Saturday’s Amazon cargo plane crash at Miami International Airport indicates the pilots considered aborting the flight’s landing before the aircraft crashed, resulting in five fatalities on the ground.

During a press conference Tuesday evening, officials from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) presented data from the plane’s “black box” flight‑recorder, which was recovered from the wreckage on Monday, showing that the pilots initiated a “go‑around,” meaning they aborted the landing, moments before impact.

The NTSB reported that thirty seconds prior to the end of the flight‑data recording, the nose landing gear and the right main landing gear made contact, while nineteen seconds earlier the left main landing gear came down.

A few seconds afterward, the brakes were released and the throttles were increased to values consistent with a go‑around maneuver.

The NTSB added that there was no indication in the recorded data that speed brakes or thrust reversers were deployed.

NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy explained that the pilots will be interviewed on Wednesday, and details from the cockpit voice recorder will be made public following that interview.

The NTSB continues to analyze flight data and other available evidence to determine the cause of the accident.

Earlier Tuesday, officials identified the five individuals killed on Saturday and announced that two others remained hospitalized in critical condition.

At a morning press conference, Miami‑Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero‑Stutz disclosed that both pilots of the Amazon Prime Air Boeing 767—who careered off the end of the airport’s runway and struck at least two vehicles—were released from the hospital after treatment.

The aircrews implicated in the incident were the sole occupants aboard.

The sheriff named five deceased victims: Rolando Aleman Leon, 55; Yoel Rodríguez Narajo, 53; Julio C. Pineda, 75; Carlos Acosta Fajardo, 53; and Javier Reyes Quevedo, 47.

All five fatality and the two most severely injured—men aged 79 and 32—were passengers in a Ford Econoline van operated by 21 Air LLC under contract to Amazon, which had been forced to land after a flight from San Juan, Puerto Rico when the aircraft crashed through a fence onto the roadway.

The victims who died were employees of Professional Ocean Service Corporation, an aircraft‑culling contractor, which issued a statement honoring its departed workforce.

“Our employees are far more than the people who work beside us each day; they are family, and they are deeply loved,” the statement read.

“Our hearts and prayers are with every employee and every family whose lives have been forever altered. We mourn the loss of loved ones and pray for the healing and recovery of those who were injured.”

Cordero‑Stutz emphasized that the lives of the surviving families had been shattered by this tragedy.

“We are trying to understand what happened and how it occurred, but for those families, they will continue to live with this loss for the remainder of their lives,” she told reporters.

“This is an extremely difficult period, and it is profoundly hard for each and every one of these families,” Homendy added.

NTSB investigators kept examining the crash site on Tuesday as the airport resumed normal operations after three days of widespread cancellations and delays.

In a Monday afternoon briefing, Chair Homendy described the aftermath as an “utter devastation” following a thunderstorm, noting that the aircraft traveled roughly 1,300 feet beyond the pavement at the end of the runway and penetrated a perimeter fence. The disaster left a broad field of debris, including air bags, shattered vehicle parts, destroyed portions of the aircraft, and fence sections.

“It’s rather extensive,” she said. “Hard to see, and I’m certain it must have been very challenging for the responders as well. I would describe it in one word as devastating, utter devastation.”

Footage captured by viewers showed the plane touching down far along the strip, prompting speculation that its speed may have been insufficient for a safe stop.

Other considerations under investigation, Homendy added, were the weather conditions preceding and during the attempted landing, as well as the mechanical condition of the 32‑year‑old aircraft that was completing its third flight of the day. She indicated that the NTSB would prioritize retaining as much “perishable” evidence as possible while doing so.

Industry specialists have suggested that pilot error may have been a contributing factor. Aviation attorney Robert Clifford, who has managed numerous commercial aircraft crash cases over five decades, described the scenario as a classic tail‑wind landing mistake where a pilot incorrectly—or over‑confidently—attempted to land with a tailwind instead of a headwind.

“This appears to be a textbook case of a tailwind landing error in which a pilot mistakenly or recklessly decides to land with a tailwind rather than a headwind,” he told The Guardian.

“Such behavior generates excessive touchdown speed and excess distance from the threshold, leaving inadequate stopping distance for the airplane’s braking and reverse‑thrust systems to cope,” he explained.

Clifford also highlighted the absence of arresting devices or extra fencing at the former end of the runway—a feature common at major airports—that limits the crew’s options at low‑speed entry.

On Monday, Homendy confirmed that the NTSB would remain on site for approximately a week to recover as much temporary evidence as feasible, rather than arriving at an immediate conclusion about the cause.

Amazon asserted that it would cooperate closely with federal investigators throughout the inquiry. Homendy noted that NTSB teams would also review the operational relationship between Amazon and 21 Air, the Miami‑based aircraft operator responsible for the service.

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