An Amazon cargo plane operated by 21 Air crashed at Miami International Airport on Sunday, killing five ground workers after pilots ignored warning signals and landed at excessive speed. The accident has raised concerns about 21 Air's safety practices and Amazon's reliance on multiple smaller carriers rather than operating its own fleet, though Amazon maintains its carrier model follows industry standards and FAA certification requirements.
The FAA prohibits babywearing carriers on planes during takeoff and landing, requiring parents to hold infants instead. The rule, based on a 1995 study that tested car seats but not babywearing carriers or lap-holding, may be overly restrictive; modern carriers could plausibly be safer than unsecured lap-holding, but the FAA has not re-evaluated this since then.
On September 11, 2001, FAA air traffic managers and intelligence specialists across the Northeast detected the hijacked flights and coordinated emergency response as American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center at 8:46 a.m., followed by a second aircraft, with personnel recounting their shock and efforts to warn others despite limited established protocols for such an attack.