New flight data indicates that a pilot on board an Amazon cargo plane that crashed in Miami, Florida, on Sunday had warned the other pilot about the aircraft's excessive speed before it overshot a runway, crashed into other vehicles, and caught fire.
The investigation update from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) stated that one pilot repeatedly alerted the other in the cockpit about "the aircraft's excessive speed" but noted "there was but not a consistent verbal response," even as an altitude alarm sounded.
The Boeing 767-300's landing speed was recorded at 158 knots (292km/h), which experts have pointed out was on the higher end.
The NTSB is leading the investigation into the crash that resulted in the deaths of five people and injuries to five others.
The flight data released by the NTSB included details such as the plane's speed, altitude, and flap deployment as it approached the runway. The update also contained a summary of the conversation between the two pilots.
The summary indicated that the pilot's warnings about speed occurred "throughout the remainder of the recording," as did the inconsistent verbal response.
The update mentioned an electronic "sink rate sink rate" callout during the final minutes, which is an automated safety warning regarding the speed of descent.
Additionally, there was an electronic "too low terrain" callout, another automated verbal warning indicating the plane was flying too close to the ground without being properly prepared for landing.
Aviation attorney Pablo Rojas told CBS News, the BBC's US partner, that it was difficult to ascertain the exact meaning of the NTSB's note about an inconsistent verbal response without the actual recording. "But, it really confirms that this was, in a way, a doomed approach," he said.
Rojas also highlighted that the flap deployment data included in the NTSB's update could be a cause for concern. He explained that flaps, located on the rear of the wings, "are part of what helps the plane kind of slow down and gently approach a landing." "The flap deployment here happened much later in the accident sequence," Rojas added. "That's maybe because the pilots were responding to the fact that they were going too fast."
After overshooting the runway, the plane, identified as Amazon Prime Air Flight 7598, struck equipment on the ground, hit a white Ford van, and then continued through a perimeter fence. It subsequently collided with a Toyota Corolla before coming to a halt approximately 1,300ft (394m) beyond the runway.
The five individuals who perished were part of a plane-cleaning crew in the van. Miami authorities identified them on Tuesday as Rolando Aleman Leon, 55; Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo, 53; Julio C Pineda, 75; Carlos Acosta Fajardo, 53; and Javierkys Reyes Quevedo, 47.
