The NTSB said on March 5 that, shortly before the plane's crash landing, the Boeing 767-300 cargo jet entered some turbulence. Then, the engines increased to maximum thrust, after which the airplane pitch turned slightly up. That"startled the cockpit crew," the JournalThe crew then tried to push the nose of the plane down. At a 49-degree angle, this caused an unusually steep descent, the Journal reported.
An NTSB spokesman told the Associated Press that the agency is still investigating why the plane underwent a sharp change in pitch.Pilots likely lost control of the plane carrying Amazon cargo before the crash killed all 3 on board, according to an initial review of the cockpit recording "I can't imagine," a current pilot and former aviation safety officer in the US Military told Business Insider."It sounds so off to me — totally counter to my instincts and training. I'd kick the autopilot and autothrottles off pretty darn fast."
Robert Sumwalt, the NTSB's chairman, predicted it would take more than a year of work to determine the cause of the crash,"This seems to be very much a mystery," Sumwalt said, according to the magazine."But the NTSB has 52 years of experience solving such mysteries, and I'm confident we will get to the bottom of this."