A major shipment of CooperVision contact lenses remains stranded aboard an Amazon cargo aircraft that ran off the runway at Miami International Airport on Sunday. The disabled jet is now resting at an angle in a grassy area near the airport, with part of the aircraft damaged as investigators continue working to determine what caused the accident.
It remains unclear whether any of the contact lenses were damaged in the incident or whether the shipment can ultimately be recovered.
During a media briefing Tuesday evening, National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homandy said Flight 7598, a Boeing 767-300 passenger-to-freighter conversion operated by 21 Air for Amazon’s logistics network, was carrying more than 32,000 pounds of contact lenses. The eye-care products represented the aircraft’s primary cargo.
CooperVision confirmed to FreightWaves that it was the Amazon customer whose shipment was aboard the aircraft. The accident left five people dead and several others injured after the plane struck two vehicles.
“Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the incident involving a flight at Miami International Airport,” CooperVision said in a statement. “Among the aircraft’s cargo were contact lenses manufactured at CooperVision’s Juana Diaz facility in Puerto Rico. The company contracted with an independent third-party logistics provider that transports freight out of Puerto Rico on behalf of multiple organizations. CooperVision will support the National Transportation Safety Board and other relevant authorities as needed.”
CooperVision is a division of San Ramon, California-based CooperCompanies.
The circumstances surrounding the flight indicate that it primarily supported Amazon Air Cargo, a two-year-old logistics operation that makes excess capacity aboard Amazon cargo aircraft available to third-party shippers. Amazon Air was launched roughly a decade ago as a way to accelerate package deliveries for Amazon Prime customers ordering products online. The network has since expanded to more than 100 aircraft serving more than 65 destinations.
Amazon Air Cargo forms part of a broader effort by the company to commercialize supply chain capabilities originally developed to handle its own inventory distribution and sales. After building an extensive and interconnected air network, Amazon began offering available capacity to outside shippers, regardless of whether they sold products through Amazon’s marketplace or used Amazon’s fulfillment services.
FlightRadar24 data, which tracks commercial aircraft movements, indicates that 21 Air continues to operate flights for both Amazon and DHL Express as scrutiny of the carrier’s safety culture intensifies.
Information recovered by the NTSB from the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder indicates that Flight 7598 approached the airport at excessive speed. The pilots struggled to slow the aircraft, overshot the runway’s designated touchdown zone and then encountered difficulties getting all three landing gears onto the runway.
According to the information presented by investigators, the pilots did not deploy the speed brakes or thrust reversers to slow the aircraft. They subsequently applied throttle in a late attempt to take off again before the aircraft ultimately left the runway. The pilot had received his type certification for the Boeing 767-300 cargo aircraft in May.
Since Sunday’s accident, 21 Air has continued operating seven Boeing 767-300 aircraft, primarily on routes between Amazon’s superhub at Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport and Miami. The carrier also connects those airports with San Juan, Puerto Rico; Quito, Ecuador; Bogota, Colombia; Lakeland, Florida, and other destinations.
Why It Matters
The accident has disrupted CooperVision’s supply chain and could potentially expose the company to claims involving Amazon.
At the same time, the crash has triggered a separate legal action. The widow of one of five aircraft cleaning workers killed when their van was struck by the Amazon aircraft on Sunday is suing Amazon, Amazon Air Cargo, affiliated companies, aircraft lessors and the pilots.
Yaraisi Santiso Morejon filed the wrongful-death lawsuit Wednesday in Miami-Dade County on behalf of her husband, 53-year-old Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo.
Two other workers who were inside the van remain hospitalized in critical condition.
The lawsuit alleges that Amazon Air Flight 7598 was traveling significantly faster than normal while approaching Runway 30. It further claims that the pilots failed to abort the landing despite a tailwind and an unstable approach.
The complaint also alleges that Amazon exercised substantial control over 21 Air’s operations within its cargo network, including flight schedules, aircraft utilization, cargo procedures and safety requirements.
According to the lawsuit, Amazon should be held responsible for allegedly failing to properly select, monitor and oversee the carrier.
The complaint also points to earlier safety concerns allegedly raised by former 21 Air employees. Those complaints reportedly involved maintenance, pilot training, supervision and flight operations.
The lawsuit argues that Amazon knew, or should have known, about the reported safety deficiencies before Sunday’s crash.
