MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — Parts of the Amazon cargo plane that overran a runway at Miami International Airport this past weekend are now being separated in preparation for the aircraft’s relocation, an MIA spokesperson confirmed to Local 10 News.
Cranes surrounded the plane as crews worked to begin breaking it apart.
Sky 10 flew over the scene, where debris still scattered across the parking lot, grass and part of the runway.
The date and time for the relocation have not yet been determined.
The move could provide some relief for MIA and travelers, as only three of the airport’s four runways remain open. Dozens of delays have been reported as the airport continues to operate below full capacity.
The National Transportation Safety Board said investigators would be at the airport for about a week as they conduct their investigation on the ground.
The Amazon cargo plane is in the beginning stages of being broken into pieces so it can be relocated off MIA’s runway, according to an airport official.
The effort comes days after the plane overran the runway and struck two cars in its path, killing five people on Sunday.
Now, NTSB investigators are revealing what was said inside the cockpit, based on audio recovered from the plane’s voice recorder.
Investigators said one pilot is heard warning that the plane was traveling too fast, more than a minute before the aircraft first touched down on the runway.
According to investigators, that pilot “made additional comments regarding the aircraft’s excessive speed throughout the remainder of the recording” — but “There was not a consistent verbal response.”
The cockpit also recorded electronic alerts warning that the aircraft was too low to the terrain.
Then, with just 15 seconds left in the recording, one pilot called for a “go-around” attempt — an effort to lift the plane back into the air and retry the landing.
But five seconds later, the plane ran off the runway.
“That kind of hesitation is deadly in a runway like this,” said aviation expert Pablo Rojas.
Rojas said the combination of the plane’s speed, the brakes being applied, released and then reapplied, and the crew’s indecision in the final seconds was critical.
“First they were trying to land, slow the plane down, bring it to a halt, then they hesitated and maybe tried to do a go-around, meaning speed up again, then they made another change in their decision which was to try to land again,” he said”
Local 10 News also heard from a man who witnessed the crash.
“We were inside the warehouse when we heard a super loud noise,” witness Abraham Altamar said.
Altamar said he came across pilot Jaime Felipe Silva Molina after the pilot escaped the burning plane.
“He was shaking, he seemed stressed,” Altamar said.
He added: “I just asked him if he wanted me to call 911 but he’s like ‘no, I need your phone to call my wife.”’
Altamar said he overheard part of that call.
“He was like, oh my career, my career is over,” he said.
Both pilots were interviewed by the NTSB, but there is still no word on what came out of those interviews.
Investigators also have more to consider, including the mechanics of the plane, the weather conditions Sunday when the crash happened, and the history of both the aircraft and its company.
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