NTSB: Amazon 767 Pilots Added Thrust Then Aborted Go-Around, No Reversers Or Speed Brakes

Published Sep 9, 2026, 7:51 AM EDT Luke has over a decade of experience as a travel writer and aviation analyst. As a passionate traveler based across the Middle East and Asia, Luke offers strong insights into the industry. Based in South East Asia. The National Transportation Safety Board ( NTSB) has released the final 30 seconds of flight data from the Amazon Prime Air Boeing 767 accident at Miami International Airport (MIA) on Sunday, revealing that the pilots applied thrust for a go-around before aborting the maneuver, then apparently failed to deploy thrust reversers or speed brakes. Sunday's crash led to the death of five people after the Boeing 767-300F ran off the end of Runway 30 and struck two vehicles, with an additional five people injured. Both pilots of the freighter survived and will be interviewed by the NTSB on Wednesday ahead of further investigation updates, including the aircraft's cockpit voice recorder data. Amazon Prime Air 767 Pilots Attempted Go-Around Before Aborting NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy held a briefing on Tuesday and gave a detailed breakdown of the aircraft's flight data leading up to the crash. At 30 seconds, the nose landing gear and right main landing gear touched down at a ground speed of 158 knots, with wheel brakes applied seven seconds later at 146 knots. However, the left main landing gear did not touch the ground until 19 seconds before the end of the recording, a full 11 seconds after the aircraft first touched the runway. Time before end of recording What happened 30 seconds Nose and right main landing gear touched down at 158 knots 23 seconds Wheel brakes applied at 146 knots 19 seconds Left main landing gear touched down at 134 knots 15 seconds Wheel brakes released; engine power increased as if starting a go-around, at 120 knots 11 seconds Engine power reduced to idle and wheel brakes were applied again, at 117 knots 7 seconds The aircraft's movement changed in several directions, at 96 knots 0 seconds Recording ended with the aircraft's speed at 65 knots Four seconds later, while at a speed of 120 knots, the brakes were released and thrust was increased, indicating that the pilots were speeding up to attempt a go-around. Thrust was maintained for four seconds until the throttles were pulled back to idle, consistent with the pilots aborting the go-around. Wheel brakes were then re-applied when the aircraft was at 117 knots, before the recorder captured multiple changes in lateral, longitudinal and vertical acceleration. According to Chihoon Shin, the NTSB's investigator in charge, "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." Speed Brakes And Thrust Reversers Were Not Used Credit: Robin Guess | Shutterstock Crucially, the NTSB said the data shows no indication that the pilots deployed thrust reversers or speed brakes at any moment during the landing. Both of these functions are key systems that help an aircraft slow down after landing or during a rejected takeoff. However, both systems depend on the aircraft being firmly on the ground. A possible factor was the fact that the left main gear did not fully touch the runway for around 11 seconds after the initial touchdown. This is likely to have prevented the speed brakes and thrust reversers from deploying soon after the initial touchdown. Runway 12/30 also has the shortest landing distance available (LDA) of MIA's four runways at less than 8,000 feet, with around 1,000 feet of runway safety area beyond the pavement. However, this area does not have any Engineered Materials Arresting System (EMAS) to forcibly slow an aircraft down. Pilots To Be Interviewed Credit: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock While not named by the NTSB, CBS News has identified both pilots as Captain Joseph Carroll, 55, and First Officer Jaime Felipe Silva Molina, 37. Carroll had accumulated 7,145 flight hours as of March and only received his 767 type rating in May, just four months before the accident, while Silva had 2,655 flight hours as of August and was rated for the 767 in April 2025. Both pilots were performing their third flight of the day following sectors from Cincinnati to Miami and Miami to San Juan. The NTSB says both pilots — who were treated for injuries at the scene and released — will be interviewed on Wednesday to determine more facts of the case. The two were employed by 21 Air, which began operating 767 freighter services on behalf of Amazon in late 2024. The airline has faced safety allegations from former employees, including that pilots were discouraged from submitting safety reports and that important maintenance work was regularly deferred.