NTSB analyzes flight crew decision making in 21 Air crash

One of the two pilots of 21 Air flight 7598 had remarked on the 767-300BDSF being too fast about a minute and a half before the aircraft overran the runway in Miami on Sept. 6, killing five. The pilot first cautioned that the freighter was too fast approximately 1 minute and 42 seconds before the end of the aircraft’s cockpit voice recording and continued to comment on the excessive speed throughout the remainder of the recording, according to a summary of the ﬁnal few minutes captured on the cockpit voice recorder, released by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) today. [caption id="attachment_57298931" align="aligncenter" width="1352"] NTSB personnel continue to investigate the accident. (Courtesy/NTSB)[/caption] There was no consistent verbal response to the comments about speed, but one of the pilots called for a go-around 15 seconds before the end of the recording, the NTSB said. The NTSB continues to analyze the decisions made by the crew that was operating flight 7598 after revealing yesterday that preliminary flight-recorder data showed the two pilots may have attempted a go-around before the 767-300BDSF (27310) overran the runway in Miami on Sept. 6, killing five. The 1994-vintage unit 27310 ’s nose landing gear and right main landing gear touched down at a ground speed of 158 knots thirty seconds before the flight data recorder stopped, NTSB Investigator-In-Charge Chihoon Shin said during the agency’s Sept. 8 briefing . Crew decisions “The crew applied the brakes seven seconds later at 146 knots, while the left main landing gear touched down four seconds after that at 134 knots,” Shin said. “The brakes were released fifteen seconds before the recording ended, when the aircraft was traveling at 120 knots, and the throttles increased to values consistent with go-around thrust. Four seconds later, the aircraft was traveling at 117 knots when the throttles were placed back at idle and brakes were reapplied.” The freighter was traveling at 96 knots when its lateral, longitudinal and vertical acceleration values changed seven seconds before the recording ended. Its final recorded ground speed was 65 knots, he said. “The recorder contained no indication that the speed brakes or thrust reversers deployed,” Shin added. Findings not confirmed The NTSB will conduct an aircraft-performance study as it continues to determine whether those systems functioned normally. The agency has not identified pilot error, a mechanical malfunction or any other probable cause, NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said during the briefing. Homendy cautioned against drawing conclusions from the preliminary data and said investigators would interview both pilots and 21 Air’s assistant chief pilot today and compare their accounts with the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder before analyzing the throttle movements. The cockpit voice recorder contained more than two hours of good-quality audio, while the flight data recorder contained about fifty-five hours of information covering more than 400 parameters, Homendy said. Investigators visited 21 Air’s operations control center in Miami on Sept. 8 and interviewed the certified dispatcher responsible for flight planning and flight-following for flight 7598, she said. Greensboro, N.C.-based 21 Air is cooperating with the FAA, NTSB and local authorities, Chief Executive Keith Winters said in a statement, but the airline could not be reached for further comment. The 21 Air Pilots Association (TAPA) has a representative participating with the investigation team to help maintain awareness of the process from the union’s perspective, TAPA President Brandon T. Wilds told Cargo Facts . “We are also coordinating with other pilot unions and industry organizations to obtain guidance and support as we navigate the investigation and ensure our pilots have the resources they need,” he said. “Our primary focus remains supporting our pilots, cooperating with the investigation and identifying any lessons that can be learned from this accident to further enhance the safety of our crews and operations,” Wilds added. Crew details The NTSB’s Homendy said the captain — identified by the Miami-Dade Sherriff’s Office as Joseph Carroll — is fifty-five years old, received his 767 type rating in May and had 7,145 flight hours listed on his most recent medical certificate. The thirty-seven-year-old first officer — identified as Jaime Felipe Silva Molina — received his type rating in April 2025 and had 2,655 hours listed on his latest medical certificate. Unit 27310 departed San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU), at a weight of 252,182 pounds and had a planned landing weight of 231,236 pounds, Homendy said. The freighter carried 32,222 pounds of cargo, consisting primarily of contact lenses, and no hazardous materials. Based on the information released, the crew appears to have misjudged the touchdown point and continued the landing without enough runway remaining, Steve Forness, managing director of aircraft engineering consultancy Air Flight Technical, told Cargo Facts . “From all that I can see and read, it appears to be pilot error,” Forness said, adding that an underlying mechanical issue could emerge in the NTSB’s preliminary report. Forness said he believes the crew should have added power and executed a go-around instead of continuing the landing. “[They] just didn’t have enough runway left,” Forness said. “That is saying a lot since that runway is almost twice as long as he needed if [they] had hit the first landing spot.” Incident timeline Unit 27310 was flying CMI service for Amazon to Miami International Airport (MIA) from SJU on Sept. 6 when it overran the end of runway 30. It is the second Amazon-leased 767F involved in a fatal crash. The freighter was one of eight 767-300BCFs and -300BDSFs that 21 Air flew for Amazon. Branded “Amazon One,” it joined the e-commerce giant’s fleet in August 2016 on lease from Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings’ dry-leasing subsidiary, Titan Aviation Leasing. Amazon transferred unit 27310 and six other 767Fs (26206, 27205, 27615, 27959, 27960 and 28865) to 21 Air from Atlas Air between late 2024 and the first half of 2025, before placing its first owned 767-300BCF (29384) with 21 Air this year. Cargo Facts Symposium 2026, the premier event for the freighter aircraft and air cargo industries, will take place in Nashville, Tenn., on Oct. 21-23. Find out more and register here .

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