A cargo plane operated by Amazon crashed at Miami International Airport on Friday, killing five people. The National Transportation Safety Board has recovered the aircraft's flight data and cockpit voice recorders, which investigators will analyze to determine what caused the accident. Such recorders are typically among the first pieces of physical evidence examined in crash investigations, as they contain detailed information about the aircraft's systems and crew communications in the moments before impact.
Large cargo plane accidents are relatively rare in the United States, but when they do occur, they often draw immediate federal scrutiny. The NTSB, the independent agency responsible for investigating aviation accidents, typically takes several months or longer to complete its full investigation and issue findings and safety recommendations. The recovered recorders will be a critical first step in understanding the sequence of events that led to the crash.