The Liberty Daily 
(The Epoch Times)—Amazon announced on Sunday that it was suspending its partnership with 21 Air after a plane crash in Miami a week ago, which led to the deaths of five people.
A Boeing 767 cargo aircraft, operated by 21 Air, overran the runway by about 1,300 feet on Sept. 6 and crashed into a workers’ van and an SUV, killing five people and injuring another five. Both pilots survived.
Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in a statement on Sunday that safety has always been the company’s top priority.
“After the tragic incident last weekend, we’ve spent time supporting the investigation and reviewing some of the surrounding circumstances, and we’ve decided to pause our operations with 21 Air, the operator of Flight 7598,” Nantel said. “We’ll continue working to support the investigation, and everyone affected.”
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said on Sept. 9 that evidence from the cockpit voice recorder showed the pilot was repeatedly warned by his counterpart that he was going too fast as he came in to land.
During a news conference on Sept. 8, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy told reporters that she had not seen press reports about safety concerns regarding 21 Air.
“I don’t know anything about those,” Homendy said. “But what I will say is, just like when we were looking for evidence, if you want to share, please send that in to witness@ntsb.gov. If you think anything is relevant to this investigation, anything, send it in.”
21 Air ‘Devastated’
The CEO of 21 Air, based in Greensboro, North Carolina, posted a statement on the company’s website last week saying the company was “devastated” by the Miami crash.
“Our deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives,” CEO Keith Winters said.
“Our immediate priorities are supporting those affected, assisting the appropriate authorities, and ensuring that accurate and verified information is communicated as it becomes available.”
He also said they were cooperating fully with the NTSB, the Federal Aviation Administration, and local authorities in Florida.
WFMY News 2, a local television channel in Greensboro, said last week it had reached out to the company about safety concerns and visited its head office, but had received no response.
The Epoch Times reached out to 21 Air for comment, but did not receive a response by publication time.
The 32-year-old Boeing was originally built to carry passengers and flew for several airlines abroad for more than two decades before being converted to a cargo plane in 2015, according to flight-tracking site Flightradar24.
NTSB investigators said on Sept. 7 that they had recovered the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder, commonly called black boxes.
During a news conference on Sept. 8, NTSB’s investigator-in-charge, Chihoon Shin, said that 30 seconds before the end of the flight data recording, the nose landing gear and right main landing gear touched down on the runway at a speed of 158 knots (181 mph), while 19 seconds before the end of the recording, the left main landing gear touched down at a speed of 134 knots (154 mph).
According to Shin, a few seconds later, the brakes were released, and the throttles were increased to values consistent with go-around thrust.
That may indicate a late attempt to abort the landing and get back in the air, he added.
The NTSB stated that the recorded data showed no indication that speed brakes or thrust reversers were deployed to slow the plane.
The 55-year-old pilot and his first officer have not been officially identified.
Flight 7598 was on its third flight of the day, having flown in from San Juan, Puerto Rico, with a cargo mainly consisting of contact lenses.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
