MIAMI (TNND) — Amazon said Sunday it has paused operations with 21 Air after a cargo jet operated by the carrier careened off a runway at Miami International Airport, killing five members of a plane-cleaning crew.
Information released from the cockpit voice recorder showed one pilot warned the aircraft was moving too fast as the crew prepared to land Sept. 6.
The recorder also captured automated Ground Proximity Warning System alerts. The computerized voice twice warned of a “sink rate” before issuing five “too low terrain” alerts as the aircraft approached the runway.
“After the tragic incident last weekend, we’ve spent time supporting the investigation and reviewing some of the surrounding circumstances, and we’ve decided to pause our operations with 21 Air, the operator of Flight 7598,” Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in a statement. “We’ll continue working to support the investigation and everyone affected.”
The Boeing 767 was carrying about 32,000 pounds of cargo, mostly contact lenses, according to NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy.
The approximately 32-year-old jet was originally manufactured as a passenger aircraft, according to flight-tracking service Flightradar24. It flew for several airlines for more than two decades before it was converted to a cargo aircraft in 2015.