National Transportation Safety Board investigators Thursday clarified the sequence of events involving the Amazon Prime Air cargo jet that overran Miami International Airport’s (KMIA) Runway 30 in early September, killing five people. Initial findings reveal that the airplane had little room to come to a stop after touching down.
According to the NTSB’s investigation preliminary report, the aircraft—a Boeing 767-33A operated by Amazon contractor 21 Air—touched down about 3,750 feet beyond the displaced threshold at the approach end of Runway 30. The runway measures 9,360 feet, including the displaced threshold.
According to Boeing’s documentation, depending on its weight, a 767-300 freighter requires between about 4,200 and 5,500 feet of runway for landing when flaps are set to 30 degrees, the runway is dry, and the airport is near sea level, as Miami International is. The accident aircraft’s planned landing weight was 231,236 pounds, about 95,000 pounds below the 767-300’s maximum landing weight.
However, the weight-on-wheels parameter on the aircraft’s landing gear, which indicates whether the weight of the aircraft is resting on its wheels, did not switch to “ground” until the airplane had about 2,730 feet of runway remaining. The parameter oscillated between air and ground indications for about seven seconds after the jet’s left and right main landing gear touched down at a groundspeed of about 160 knots.
Despite one pilot requesting flaps be set to 30 degrees with about 41 seconds remaining on the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) data the NTSB reviewed, an examination of the wreckage revealed that slat track and flap support rod measurements were consistent with a 25-degree flaps setting. Automated callouts in the cockpit indicated the jet was descending too fast as it approached the runway, but the crew did not initiate a go-around attempt until there was less than 1,000 feet of runway remaining.
Speed brakes were not applied and thrust reversers did not deploy during the landing rollout, according to the NTSB’s analysis of the flight data recorder (FDR).
“FDR and other engineering data will be incorporated into an NTSB airplane performance study to refine this preliminary sequence of events and to analyze the physical state of the airplane during its approach and landing on Runway 30,” the NTSB said.
The preliminary report also indicated that KMIA’s Runway 30 lacks an engineered materials arresting system (EMAS). NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy in September said a “key part of our investigation” would be to determine whether EMAS could have prevented the accident and whether it should be installed universally.
The report also contains new information on the flight crew, aircraft damage, and actions taken by air traffic control (ATC).
Aircraft and Flight Crew
According to the NTSB, the accident aircraft was making its third flight of the day. It had accumulated a total time of about 110,077 flight hours and 24,505 flight cycles. The model was manufactured in June 1994 and originally delivered in passenger-carrying configuration before being converted to a freighter in 2016.
It was the second flight of the day for the accident flight crew, whose captain and first officer flew together for the first time on an outbound flight from Miami to San Juan, Puerto Rico, earlier in the day.
The captain on September 5, the day before the accident, made two flights between Miami and Colombia, returning to KMIA in the evening and retiring from duty until the following morning. The first officer had been off duty since September 4.
On the accident flight, the captain was the pilot flying and the first officer was the pilot monitoring. Their roles had been reversed on the outbound flight to Puerto Rico earlier in the day.
Per interviews with the NTSB, the captain was hired by 21 Air in April and had total flight experience of 7,267 hours, with 2,700 hours in the Boeing 737 but only 150 in the 767. The first officer was hired in February 2025 and had about 2,800 hours of flight experience, with 800 coming in the 767.
What Happened Before, During, and After the Accident
Controllers at KMIA’s combined ATC tower and terminal radar approach control (TRACON) facility cleared the Amazon cargo jet for landing on runway 30 when it was about 12 nm from the displaced threshold.
At the time of the accident, the airport’s Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) reported wind from 190 degrees at 17 knots with gusts to 26 knots, visibility of 10 sm or greater, thunderstorms, scattered cumulonimbus clouds at 2,000 feet agl, and broken ceiling at 4,800 feet agl.
The local control south (LCS) controller was responsible for arrivals and departures on runways 9/27 and 12/30. But they did not issue information about the wind after granting runway clearance for the accident aircraft, despite the FAA requiring controllers to state wind direction and velocity when a tailwind component exists. The controller did provide wind information to another aircraft about 4 minutes prior, but the Amazon jet was not yet on the frequency.
The controller had about 11 years of ATC experience, was certified for the LCS position in 2019, and had been on position for about 17 minutes.
The 767 crossed the runway threshold at about 105 feet agl and groundspeed of 177 knots, per ADS-B and FDR data. Conditions at the time were VMC.
With about 930 feet of runway remaining, when groundspeed was 120 knots, brake pedals for wheel braking were released and the throttle resolver angle for both engines “increased to go-around thrust values,” the NTSB said. With about 415 feet remaining, wheel brakes were reapplied and throttle resolver angles reduced to idle values. An examination of the wreckage found the throttle levers in the idle position and fuel control switches in the cut-off position.
Ground speed was about 113 knots when the airplane crossed the departure end of the runway and about 100 knots when it impacted the localizer and Medium Intensity Approach Lighting System with Runway Alignment Indicator Lights (MALSR). The jet departed the paved surface and came to rest about 1,200 feet beyond it.
The FDR’s last recorded groundspeed was 65 knots, shortly after the aircraft broke through the airport’s perimeter fence and traversed a public road. It impacted a cleaning van before breaking the fence, killing five people and severely injuring two, and a Toyota SUV while crossing the road, severely injuring the sole occupant. Photos of the vehicles shared by the NTSB show severe damage to both.
After the airplane came to rest, the captain egressed out of door 1L, and the first officer egressed out of the right cockpit window. Both suffered minor injuries.
The NTSB found the jet’s nose landing gear displaced aft and underneath its belly. Left and right main landing gear assemblies were found in an “extended and locked landing configuration.” All brake wear pins showed remaining service life for the vehicle’s eight wheels.
The most substantial damage was to the right wing, which the NTSB said displayed “varying amounts of heat damage” due to a postcrash fire. A large section of the upper wing skin separated and was found about 158 feet away in a nearby parking lot. The damaged right engine was resting on the ground after partially separating from the wing pylon structure.
The NTSB’s investigation remains open, and the agency has not yet determined a probable cause.