SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
We are learning more about the deadly crash of an Amazon cargo plane on Sunday in Miami. Safety investigators say there's evidence that the pilots briefly tried to abort the landing. Instead, the plane overran the runway by roughly 1,300 feet and crashed into two vehicles on the ground, killing five people and injuring five more. NPR transportation correspondent Joel Rose is following the story and joins us now. Hey, Joel.
JOEL ROSE, BYLINE: Hi, Scott.
DETROW: What is the latest from the investigation?
ROSE: Investigators at the National Transportation Safety Board are looking at the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder. The NTSB shared some of the evidence from the data recorder last night, which suggests that the pilots briefly considered aborting this landing, as you said, after the plane had already touched down on the runway. The flight crew released the brakes and opened the throttle for just a few seconds. That is what you would do if you were trying to take off in order to go around and attempt the landing again. The NTSB also noted that the thrust reversers and speed brakes on the plane were never engaged, which are both systems you would expect to engage if you were trying to stop.
DETROW: What do you make of that?
ROSE: So it's really a puzzling sequence of events, and that's fueling a lot of speculation that this was pilot error. For sure, there's going to be a lot of scrutiny of these pilots, of their training. Investigators at the NTSB were set to interview those pilots today.
DETROW: Given that, what do we know so far, publicly, about these pilots?
ROSE: Well, we know these pilots do not have a great deal of experience flying this kind of plane. The captain had been certified on the Boeing 767 only since May of this year, according to the NTSB. The first officer had been certified since last year. And there are questions about why this relatively inexperienced flight crew was paired together and about how they handled themselves in this difficult situation. The first lawsuit stemming from this accident has already been filed, and I have to say, it is probably not going to be the last.
DETROW: What can you tell us about that lawsuit?
ROSE: It's a wrongful death lawsuit filed this morning in Florida by lawyers representing Yaraisi Santiso Morejon. They say her husband, Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo, was driving the white van that ferried cleaning crews to and from planes. He was one of five people who were killed when this cargo plane crashed into the van after overshooting the runway. The family's lawyer, Mike Morgan, spoke to reporters today and said it's, quote, "highly likely," unquote, that this is a case of pilot error.
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MIKE MORGAN: All sides point to that this aircraft should have made a fly-around attempt, a go-around attempt, and reapproach that landing. And it leaves a lot of questions about what was going in the cockpit.
ROSE: The lawsuit names the pilots as defendants but also basically everyone associated with this plane, including Amazon as well as the companies that own and lease the plane and also a company called 21 Air, which was operating the plane.
DETROW: What do we know about 21 Air?
ROSE: The company is registered in North Carolina, but its principal place of business is Miami, according to this lawsuit. It is one of several companies that operate cargo flights for Amazon. The lawsuit alleges that there have been safety deficiencies and safety-related complaints at 21 Air that Amazon knew or should have known about. We also know that investigators at the NTSB are interested in this company too. Jennifer Homendy, the NTSB chair, said that anyone who has information about the company that might be relevant to the investigation should get in touch.
21 Air did not respond to a request for comment for this story, but the company does have a statement on its website. It says it is cooperating with the NTSB. The statement says the company is, quote, "devastated by the accident," and it offers its condolences to the families and the loved ones of those who lost their lives.
DETROW: That is NPR's Joel Rose. Thank you so much.
ROSE: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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