A pilot in the cockpit of the Amazon Air Boeing 767 that overran a runway at Miami International Airport on Sunday and struck two vehicles, killing five, expressed concern about the aircraft’s excessive speed — as alarms sounded in the plane — before it touched down, newly revealed information from the cockpit voice recorder shows.

The National Transportation Safety Board released the account of what was heard in the cockpit of the Amazon cargo jet in an “investigative update” Wednesday evening that it cautioned was preliminary and subject to change.

About two minutes after they were cleared for landing, as the plane was descending toward the runway, one of the pilots expressed concern the aircraft was going “too fast” and “made additional comments regarding the aircraft’s excessive speed throughout the remainder of the recording,” the summary of the recording reveals, but there was not a “consistent verbal response” from the other pilot to those warnings.

The NTSB update does not identify why that didn’t happen and it is certain to be a topic for investigators as they examine all aspects connected to the crash.

The summary also detailed there were several automated warnings from the Ground Proximity Warning System heard in the cockpit as the plane descended. Twice, the computerized voice warned “sink rate,” alerting the pilots the plane was dropping too fast. Five times, it warned “too low terrain,” which can mean the plane is flying too low and too fast.

After touching down on the runway, a pilot called for a “go-around” — a procedure to abort the landing and circle for another attempt. The callout appears to match information from the flight data record the NTSB released Tuesday. It showed — as the plane was traveling at nearly 140 mph — one of the pilots released the brakes on the wheels and moved the throttles to full take-off power, steps which he would take for a go-around.

Four seconds later, the throttles were brought back to idle, and the brakes were reapplied, but by that point the plane was careening off the end of the runway.

The NTSB planned to speak to the pilots Wednesday to understand what happened, including with the throttles.

“What we need to do is talk to the crew and get their account to understand how they’re manipulating the controls in order to get a better understanding of the situation,” Chihoon Shin, the NTSB investigator in charge said Tuesday. “Crew interviews will help fill in some of the blanks for us … in terms of actions that they might have done but not verbalized. And that’s something that we need a complete understanding of before we’re about to analyze what happened with the throttles in this case.”

The 230,000-pound cargo jet, operated for Amazon by contractor 21 Air, hurtled past the end of the runway and slammed into a van full of cleaning workers, an airport fence, concrete vehicle barriers and an SUV before finally stopping and catching fire. Five people in the van were killed.

Investigators recovered both the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder – often called “the black boxes” – from the tail of the crashed jet and successfully accessed the data at their lab in Washington.

The exchanges captured by the cockpit voice recorder offer more context to the unusual sequence of events in the moments before the deadly crash.

The details from the flight data recorder, released Tuesday, illustrated what the plane was physically doing but raised questions about what was going on in the cockpit.

Thirty seconds before the flight data recording ended, as the plane was going more than 180 mph, two of the landing gears – the back right and nose wheels – touched down on the runway, Shin said Tuesday.

The third set of landing gear – on the back left of the plane – didn’t touch down until nine seconds later. Aircraft are designed – and pilots are trained – to touch down with their back wheels first.

There were no indications that speed brakes or thrust reversers were deployed during the incident, the NTSB noted. Both systems are designed to help slow a plane: speed brakes by using aerodynamic surfaces and thrust reversers by diverting air from the engine.

The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office identified the pilots as Joseph Carol and Jaime Felipe Silva Molina.

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Amazon cargo plane overruns runway in Miami

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Amazon cargo plane overruns runway in Miami
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Carol, the 55-year-old captain, had more than 7,000 hours of flying time and had been certified to pilot Boeing 767s since May, the NTSB said. Silva Molina, the 37-year-old first officer, had more than 2,500 hours of flying time and been certified in the 767 since April 2025.

On Tuesday, NTSB investigators collected evidence, took measurements, examined the engines and cockpit, and recovered debris found in a parking lot near where the plane stopped. A black box from one of the vehicles that was hit was also recovered.

The NTSB also visited the air traffic control tower and Terminal Radar Approach Control, which guides planes into the airport.

The investigators also went to 21 Air’s operations center in Miami and interviewed the flight’s dispatcher who performed pre-flight planning and tracked the flight on its way from San Juan to Miami.

The plane had more than 32,000 pounds of cargo, mostly contact lenses, the NTSB reported.

Investigators are focused on collecting perishable evidence on the scene of the crash. The length of time allows them to make sure they get everything right, NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said.

“Information that we receive within hours and days of an accident can often be wrong. And it takes us some time to make sure that information we’re providing is right,” she told reporters Tuesday. “A lot is going on, and a lot of information is coming together that we have to validate. … So it does take time to do that.”

The five people killed in the van all worked for Professional Ocean Service Corp., a contract cleaning company for airlines, Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz said Tuesday.

The victims were identified as Rolando Aleman Leon, 55; Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo, 53; Julio C. Pineda, 75; Carlos Acosta Fajardo, 53 and Javierkys Reyes Quevedo, 47, the sheriff’s office said.

Rodriguez Naranjo’s widow, Yaraisi Santiso Morejon, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the plane’s pilots, Amazon, Inc. and 21 Air LLC, her attorneys announced Wednesday.

The lawsuit, filed in Miami-Dade County, alleges “multiple, concurrent failures contributed to the disaster” and that the crash was a “foreseeable and preventable disaster caused by negligence,” the Morgan & Morgan law firm said.

“Everyone who played a role in this horrific crash will be held accountable,” said John Morgan, the firm’s founder.

CNN has reached out to 21 Air for comment about the lawsuit.

An Amazon spokesperson said the company is committed to supporting families and the broader community impacted by the crash.

“Our deepest sympathies remain with the families, loved ones, and all those affected by this devastating tragedy,” Kelly Nantel, a spokesperson for Amazon, said in a statement to CNN. “The NTSB is on the ground at Miami International Airport conducting their investigation.”

“We’ll fully cooperate with them and support any other investigating authorities and we’ll also continue to coordinate with 21 Air, which operated the flight,” the statement continued. “Amazon leaders are also meeting with local officials, first responders, and others in the community to offer our support.”

Professional Ocean Service Corp. said it was “heartbroken by this unimaginable tragedy,” and that its employees were like family.

“Our hearts and prayers are with every employee and every family whose lives have been forever changed,” the company said. “We grieve with those who lost a loved one and pray for the healing and recovery of those who were injured.”

Three people injured in the crash remained hospitalized Tuesday morning, the sheriff said.

Ridoel Averhoff Diaz, 32, an occupant of the van, and Eugenio Corredor, 79, who was in the other vehicle, were in critical condition, the sheriff’s office said. Roosevelt Sebastian Perdomo Torres, 36, who was in the van, was in stable condition, the sheriff’s office said.

The van was struck on an airport service road, and the SUV was hit by the plane outside an airport fence, Homendy said.