An Amazon cargo plane sits at Miami International Airport after skidding off the runway Monday, Sept. 7, 2026, in Miami. David Santiago/AP hide signature switch signature David Santiago/AP MIAMI — Flight data suggests an Amazon cargo plane attempted to abort an unstable landing at Miami International Airport before crashing into a van and killing five people inside, investigators said Tuesday. National Transportation Safety Board investigators will interview the pilot and co-pilot on Wednesday as they try to determine why the plane ran off the runway during landing Sunday. NTSB Chairman Jennifer Homendy said at an evening news conference that they were reviewing flight data and cockpit recordings to figure out what happened in the seconds before the plane hit a van on airport property, flew through a fence and then crashed an SUV on a city street. Homendy said investigators want to talk to the pilots before releasing anything from the cockpit voice recorder about why they appeared to briefly attempt a missed approach to retry the approach before abandoning it and trying to stop the plane. She said the data shows the thrust reversers were never used to stop the plane. All five people killed were in a van used to transport crews cleaning aircraft, authorities said. Five more people were injured. The pilot and co-pilot have been released from the hospital, Miami-Dade County Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz said Tuesday. According to her, two people remain in critical condition, the third is in stable condition. Both a mangled white van, its entire front end crushed, and an SUV – so badly damaged it was almost unrecognizable – remained at the crash site Tuesday, along with the plane, which sat nose-down with a large soot mark next to the “P” in “Prime Air.” Expert says pilots may have hesitated The Amazon plane was landing after a two-hour flight from Puerto Rico as a storm brewed around the Miami airport. The NTSB said the plane overshot the end of the runway about 1,300 feet (396 meters). Former FAA spokesman Mike O’Donnell said Tuesday that the fact that the plane landed on its nose and right landing gear primarily demonstrates that it was an unstable landing. He said the pilot may have attempted a go-around. Officials stand near a destroyed wing and engine as they inspect an Amazon cargo plane two days after it overshot the runway at Miami International Airport Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, in Miami. Rebecca Blackwell/AP hide signature switch signature Rebecca Blackwell/AP “The missed approach probably should have been done earlier. And they seemed hesitant,” O’Donnell said. O’Donnell said that by the time the crew attempted to abort the landing, it may have been too late if there was not enough runway. But interviews investigators have scheduled with the pilots for Wednesday will reveal more about what they were thinking at the time. Aviation lawyer Mary Schiavo, who once served as the Department of Transportation’s inspector general, said it “appears there was disagreement among the pilots about what to do.” Weather may also have been a factor, with experts saying strong tailwinds pushed the plane far from where it was supposed to land. Investigators will want to know what the pilots were told about the weather and why air traffic controllers did not change their approach to the runway to allow the plane to land in a headwind. All the dead were in a cleaning company van. In a statement, Amazon said it is cooperating with the investigation and extends the company’s deepest condolences to the victims and their families. All five people killed were in a van owned by Professional Ocean Service Corp., an aircraft cleaning company. The company said it would not comment on the crash out of respect for the families who lost loved ones. “Our employees are so much more than the people who work alongside us every day, they are family and are deeply loved. Our hearts and prayers are with each employee and each family whose lives have been changed forever,” the company said in a statement Tuesday. An NTSB investigator works near a damaged van at the site where an Amazon cargo plane two days earlier overshot the runway while landing at Miami International Airport Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, in Miami. Rebecca Blackwell/AP hide signature switch signature Rebecca Blackwell/AP Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office identified the deceased as Rolando Aleman Leon, 55; Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo, 53; Julio C. Pineda, 75; Carlos Acosta Fajardo, 53; and Javierquis Reyes Quevedo, 47. Homendy said the accident raises concerns about the safety of airport workers. “This is, of course, very tragic. You wouldn’t think if you were driving a van to clean an airplane that this would happen,” she said. Miami does not have a special system for stopping runaway planes Homendy said investigators will look into whether the lack of a special system to slow and stop jets at the end of Miami’s runways may have been a factor in the crash. But other experts say the airport has met FAA requirements to provide a clear buffer space of at least 1,000 feet (305 meters) from the end of the runways. Miami is not among the more than 120 U.S. airports with the lightweight, destructible material, which the Federal Aviation Administration says has saved about 500 lives. Omendi said her agency’s goal is to prevent tragedies, but thousands of runway excursions continue to occur. The NTSB’s final report will state the cause and make recommendations to prevent this from happening again in the future, but it likely won’t be completed for at least a year or more. The aircraft began as a passenger aircraft and was later converted into a cargo aircraft. The flight was operated by North Carolina-based cargo airline 21 Air. The 32-year-old Boeing 767 was originally built to carry passengers and flew for several airlines in foreign countries for more than two decades before being converted into a freighter in 2015, according to flight tracking website Flightradar24. The Miami airport resumed use of a third runway Tuesday night after the NTSB cleared it for use, but investigators are still documenting evidence around debris at the end of the runway where the plane landed. More than 225 flights were canceled on Sunday and Monday, and hundreds more were delayed, officials said. But the situation should now improve as the airport can use three of its four runways. Homendy said the NTSB will try to return the runway to the airport as quickly as possible after investigators document the scene. Post navigation Sali Hughes on beauty: the hero products that kept me cool through the long, hot summer of 2026 Who can stop Harry Kane from winning the Ballon d’Or?