MIAMI — The family of a Miami-Dade County man killed when an Amazon Air cargo plane overran a runway at Miami International Airport has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Amazon, the airline that operated the flight and several other companies, claiming the crash was foreseeable and preventable.
Julio C. Pineda was one of the five victims who were seated in a cleaning company van on airport grounds on Sept. 6, when the Boeing 767 cargo aircraft bearing Amazon's name failed to stop on Runway 30 and struck the vehicle in which he was seated. Pineda died from his injuries.
The lawsuit was filed Friday in the 11th Judicial Circuit Court in Miami-Dade County by Pineda's sons, Jachel Pineda and Junior Pineda, who serve as co-personal representatives of their father's estate.
The Crash
The aircraft was operating as Amazon Prime Air Flight 7598, a cargo flight arriving from San Juan, Puerto Rico. After landing on Runway 30, the plane failed to stop within the available runway surface, overran the end of the runway, departed the paved surface, continued across airport property and through the airport perimeter, and struck occupied motor vehicles on and adjacent to the airport.
The lawsuit states Pineda was lawfully on airport grounds in the course of his employment and had no ability to anticipate, avoid or protect himself from the aircraft.
Prior Warnings Alleged
One of the most significant allegations in the lawsuit is that the carrier operating the flight — 21 Air LLC, a Miami-based cargo airline — had been warned about safety deficiencies before the crash.
The complaint states that 21 Air had "actual or constructive knowledge of deficiencies in its safety management, safety reporting, maintenance and inspection, training, crew qualification, crew rest and duty, scheduling, and operational control practices."
The lawsuit claims that knowledge came from multiple sources, including:
- Written warnings delivered to 21 Air's management and ownership by its own safety personnel
- Complaints and reports by current and former flight crew members
- Sworn testimony given in a federal whistleblower proceeding before a U.S. Department of Labor Administrative Law Judge, brought by a former 21 Air captain
- Prior in-service incidents involving 21 Air aircraft that were not adequately investigated or corrected
The complaint further alleges that 21 Air's parent companies — Avia Acquisition, LLC and Avia Investments, LLC — also had knowledge of those deficiencies and failed to correct them.
Read the full lawsuit below:
Amazon Named as Defendant
The lawsuit names both Amazon.com, Inc. and Amazon.com Services, LLC, doing business as Amazon Air Cargo, as defendants. The complaint alleges Amazon selected, retained, and exercised significant control over 21 Air's operations, including controlling the aircraft, fuel, cargo handling, routes, schedules, and daily aircraft utilization, while also setting safety and performance standards.
Plaintiffs allege Amazon knew, or should have known through reasonable oversight of its contracted carriers, that 21 Air's practices created an unreasonable risk of harm to people on and near airports.
The suit also alleges Amazon is liable in part because the aircraft bore Amazon's name, logo, and livery, and the company publicly marketed the operation as its own air cargo service without meaningfully disclosing to the public that the aircraft were operated by a separate carrier.
Among the specific allegations against Amazon, the complaint claims the company:
- Failed to conduct an adequate investigation of 21 Air's safety record before engaging the carrier
- Failed to require adequate independent safety audits of 21 Air
- Imposed or approved schedules and utilization requirements that created operational pressure inconsistent with safe flight operations
- Retained 21 Air after acquiring knowledge — or after it should have acquired knowledge — that the carrier presented an unreasonable risk of catastrophic harm
Aircraft Suppliers Also Named
Three companies involved in supplying the aircraft are also named as defendants: Andromeda Leasing II LLC, Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc., and Titan Aviation Leasing Limited Americas, Inc.
The complaint alleges each company acquired, converted, owned, maintained, and supplied the Boeing 767 for commercial cargo operations, and that each placed the aircraft into the stream of commerce despite knowing, or having reason to know, that 21 Air was an unfit operator.
The lawsuit also includes strict products liability claims against all three companies, alleging the aircraft's braking, deceleration, spoiler, and thrust reversal systems were defective and unreasonably dangerous.
Pilots Named Individually
The two pilots aboard the flight are also named individually as defendants. Joseph Carroll, identified as the captain and pilot in command, is listed as a resident of Lafayette, Colorado. Jaime Felipe Silva Molina, the first officer, is identified as a resident of Miami Gardens, Florida.
The complaint alleges Carroll failed to properly assess landing conditions, failed to execute a go-around when a reasonably prudent captain would have done so, and failed to properly decelerate the aircraft during landing and rollout.
Silva Molina is accused of failing to call out deviations from approach criteria, failing to call for a go-around, and failing to monitor the aircraft's deceleration during landing.
What the Family Is Seeking
The lawsuit is brought under the Florida Wrongful Death Act and seeks damages in excess of the court's jurisdictional limits, including compensation for the mental pain and suffering of Pineda's sons, loss of support and services, funeral expenses, and loss of the care, companionship, and counsel Pineda would have provided his children throughout his life.
The plaintiffs are represented by Joshua Padron and Mark Lopez-Trigo of Padron & Lopez-Trigo, P.A., based in Coral Gables, Florida. A jury trial has been demanded on all counts.
Amazon, 21 Air, and the other named defendants have not yet responded to the lawsuit in court filings.
