Investigators might question why pilots didn't abort landing before Miami cargo plane crash, attorney says
Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board are now scheduling interviews with the pilots of the Amazon cargo plane that crashed near Miami International Airport on Sunday, as the agency begins piecing together what caused the deadly accident.
The two pilots were released from the hospital and are expected to be interviewed as part of the NTSB's formal investigation. Investigators also plan to speak with air traffic controllers, dispatchers and others who were at the scene when the crash happened.
Monday was the first full day the NTSB team had on the ground at the crash site.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said investigators will focus on the flight's history, the crew's experience and training, and what happened in the moments before impact.
"We'll have a group of investigators focused on operations and human performance," Homendy said. "They will look at the history of the accident flight, look at the flight crew, experience and training."
The plane went down Sunday around 2 p.m. and came to rest roughly 1,300 feet from the paved runway. Aerial footage from Chopper 4 showed a debris field that included vehicles belonging to victims.
Among the evidence investigators are expected to review is video of the plane approaching Runway 30 just before the crash.
NTSB also posted images to social media of the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder being investigated at a lab in Washington, D.C.
An aviation attorney not part of the investigation raises questions upon reviewing the crash footage
Pablo Rojas, an aviation attorney with the firm Podhurst Orseck who is not part of the NTSB investigation, reviewed the footage with CBS News Miami.
"I think what is clearer from the video, and of course it's one video, and it's early days, is that it was coming in too fast," Rojas said. "The horizontal ground that it was covering as you see it approaching and then touching down was too much."
Rojas also said something else in the video caught his attention.
"In addition to those piloting decisions, I think investigators will also be looking at mechanical issues," he said. "In this approach video that we've been talking about, it looks like, and it's kind of hard to tell, that the landing gear on the left side, the wheels were not making consistent contact with the ground."
Rojas also raised questions about why the pilots did not abort the landing and attempt a go-around, a standard procedure in which a pilot pulls up and tries the approach again. That question is expected to be part of the NTSB investigation as well.
The NTSB is scheduled to hold a press conference Tuesday at 8 p.m. for an update on the continuing investigation.
