Updated

Updated · CNN · Sep 14

Victim's Family Sues Amazon, 21 Air and 2 Pilots Over 5 Deaths in Miami Cargo Crash

Updated

Updated · CNN · Sep 14

Victim's Family Sues Amazon, 21 Air and 2 Pilots Over 5 Deaths in Miami Cargo Crash

Q: Could a missing runway safety technology have prevented the tragic deaths of five ground workers during the Boeing 767 crash?

Possibly, but it is not yet possible to say it would have prevented the five deaths. The missing technology is EMAS, an Engineered Materials Arresting System, a crushable concrete-like bed placed beyond a runway to slow and stop overrunning aircraft. The FAA says EMAS has safely stopped 26 aircraft and helped save 497 people in past overruns. Aviation specialists quoted in the reporting said an EMAS bed at Miami likely would have reduced how far the Boeing 767 traveled beyond the runway and might have kept it from reaching the road and vehicles. But the key uncertainty is speed. FAA guidance says a standard EMAS installation will stop most aircraft overrunning at about 70 knots, roughly 80 mph. In the Miami crash, investigators have reported the jet touched down fast, floated far down the runway, and continued off the end at a much higher speed than a typical EMAS design case. That means it is unclear whether EMAS would have fully stopped the aircraft before impact, though it could still have reduced the severity of the overrun. Miami International was not out of compliance without EMAS. Reporting says the runway had the FAA-required 1,000-foot safety area, and EMAS is generally used where airports cannot provide that buffer because of space limits. The NTSB has said EMAS will be a key part of the investigation. Just as important, investigators are closely examining whether an unstable approach should have been aborted earlier, before the overrun risk became critical.

3 articles · Updated · CNN · Sep 14

A first wrongful-death suit was filed Wednesday by the family of Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo, one of five people killed when an Amazon Air Boeing 767 overran a Miami runway and hit two vehicles.
The complaint names Amazon, 21 Air and the jet’s two pilots, seeking civil accountability as investigators review why the landing continued despite cockpit concerns about excessive speed and sounding alarms.
Amazon said Sunday it had paused operations with 21 Air, while 21 Air said it was supporting families and cooperating with the NTSB investigation.
U.S. criminal charges against airline pilots after crashes are rare unless prosecutors find evidence of gross negligence or other criminal conduct; the FAA may still pursue fines or certificate actions.
The NTSB probe, which often takes more than a year, will determine what happened and could shape later civil, regulatory or corporate liability.