Sept 13 (Reuters) – Amazon said on Sunday it was pausing operations with Miami-based 21 Air, the cargo carrier that operated the aircraft for Amazon Air that crashed in Miami last weekend, killing five people.
“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,” Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in a statement to Reuters.
“We’ll continue working to support the investigation and everyone affected.”
Last weekend, the 21 Air-operated cargo flight for Amazon Air, which is Amazon’s cargo logistics network, overran a runway while landing at Miami International Airport and struck multiple vehicles on the ground, officials said.
The aircraft was a 32-year-old Boeing 767-300 freighter that had operated as a passenger jet for various airlines from 1994 to 2015, according to Flightradar24, a flight tracking service.
The National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the crash, said last week the pilots of the 21 Air-operated plane considered aborting the landing after the aircraft touched down, citing evidence from a flight data recorder.
The NTSB also said one pilot cautioned that they were flying “too fast” just over a minute before touching down on the runway that they overran.
The cargo plane was on its third flight of the day, coming from San Juan, Puerto Rico. It had flown from Cincinnati to Miami and from Miami to San Juan earlier before the crash.
“We remain focused on supporting the families and loved ones who were impacted by this accident, as well as working closely with the NTSB and all our partners, like Amazon, as the investigation continues. We are confident in our safety policies, procedures and training,” 21 Air said in a statement to Reuters.
(Reporting by Rishabh Jaiswal and Chandni Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich, Thomas Derpinghaus and Michael Perry)