MIAMI, Fla. (CBS12) — A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against Amazon, 21 Air, and several leasing entities following a fatal cargo jet crash at Miami International Airport.
The complaint was brought by Yaraisi Santiso Morejon, the surviving spouse of 53-year-old Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo, who was one of five people killed in the incident.
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Defendants named in the filing include Amazon.com Inc., Amazon.com Services LLC, 21 Air LLC, Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings Inc., Titan Aviation Leasing, Andromeda Leasing II LLC, and pilots Joseph Carroll and Jaime Felipe Silva Molina.
The lawsuit stems from the crash of Amazon Prime Air Flight 7598, a 32-year-old Boeing 767-300 freighter that overran Runway 30 while landing.
According to federal investigators, the jet appeared to briefly attempt to abort its landing moments before running off the runway, smashing into a van, and striking an SUV on a nearby roadway.
The five victims killed were all inside a shuttle van operated by Professional Ocean Service Corp., a company contracted to clean planes.
Authorities identified the deceased as Rolando Aleman Leon, 55; Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo, 53; Julio C. Pineda, 75; Carlos Acosta Fajardo, 53; and Javierkys Reyes Quevedo, 47.
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The flight was arriving from Puerto Rico with about 32,000 pounds of cargo, mostly contact lenses, according to NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy.
Data from the flight recorder showed the plane’s nose landing gear and right main landing gear touched down first at a ground speed of 158 knots.
The left main landing gear touched down 11 seconds later after the flight crew had applied the brakes.
NTSB Investigator in Charge Chihoon Shin stated the brakes were released and throttles were increased to values consistent with go-around thrust 15 seconds before the recording stopped.
Four seconds later, throttles were reduced to idle power, and the brakes were reapplied.
Shin noted there was no indication in the data that speed brakes or thrust reversers were deployed to slow the aircraft, which was moving at 65 knots when the recording ended.
The legal complaint alleges pilot error in attempting a tailwind-affected landing at excessive speeds without executing a mandatory go-around.
It further claims Amazon and 21 Air failed to provide adequate pilot training and that the defendants deployed an aircraft with potentially defective stopping systems.
The NTSB continues its investigation into the causes of the overrun and plans to interview both pilots.