‘Lord… You have my soul!’ Frantic last words of three pilots who were killed when their Amazon Prime Air cargo crashed are revealed as transcript of recovered cockpit voice recorder audio is released
- Three people died when the twin engine Boeing 767 crashed in Texas on February 23
- A transcript of the audio from the recovered voice recorder in the cockpit of Atlas Air flight 3591 reveal their last words
- One pilot is heard saying: ‘Pull up!’ ‘Oh God!’ ‘Lord … You have my soul’, while another appears to pray
- The plane, flying for Amazon Prime Air, crashed in Trinity Bay near Anahuac
- Pilot error is suspected, although a cause for the crash is still being investigated
The chilling last words of the pilots on board a doomed cargo plane that crashed in Texas earlier this year were revealed in a transcript released of cockpit communications.
Pilot Sean Archuleta, Captain Ricky Blakely and First Officer Conrad Jules Askawas were killed when Atlas Air Flight 3591 – a Boeing 767 – crashed February 23 in Trinity Bay near Anahauc.
The transcript of their final moments was released by the National Transportation Safety Board for the first time on Thursday as investigators continue to determine what caused Atlas Air Flight 3591 to crash.
Pilot Sean Archuleta (left) and Captain Ricky Blakely were killed when Atlas Air Flight 3591 crashed February 23. One of the pilots said: ‘Lord… you have my soul’ as the plane crashed
First Officer Conrad Jules Askawas was also killed. During the crash, another pilot mentioned that they were losing speed
The seemingly normal flight carrying packages for Amazon Prime Air from Miami to Houston’s George Bush International Airport goes went horribly wrong in its final moments.
The transcripts describes one of the pilots mentioning that they’re losing speed.
‘Whoah!’ the pilot says, in what’s described as an ‘elevated voice.’
‘Where’s my speed?’ he asks, the transcript says.
‘We’re stalling!’ are the next words said by another pilot, again in what is described as an ‘elevated voice.’
Neither is identified by their actual names.
Debris is pictured at the crash site in Trinity Bay near Anahuac, Texas, after Atlas Air Flight 3591 went down on February 23
Searchers are pictured at the crash site of Atlas Air Flight 3591 in Trinity Bay near Anahuac, Texas, after the plane went down on February 23
A few moments later, one of the pilots appears to pray.
‘Oh Lord, have mercy [on] myself,’ the pilot says. ‘Lord have mercy.’
Someone asks, ‘What’s going on?’ just before the tragic end.
‘Pull up!’ the same persons frantically shouts.
And then, ‘Oh God,’ before the final words spoken: ‘Lord… you have my soul.’
Investigators look over the damaged flight recorder in the aftermath of the crash
Cockpit communications were recovered from the flight recorder after the crash
While the cause of the crash is yet to be determined, pilot error has been suspected, reports the Wall Street Journal.
The aircraft increased thrust on approach to the airport, and it is believed that turbulent air could have jostled the arms of one of the pilots, causing the engines to rev up, a source familiar with the investigation says, reports the Journal.
While a cause has yet to be determined for the crash, pilot error has been suspected. An Amazon Prime Air cargo plane is pictured
A sudden surge in thrust, which the NTSB previously disclosed in one of its public updates, forced the aircraft’s nose pitch upward, which would have startled its crew, sources said.
Preliminary data shows the crew did respond by pushing the nose down. Disoriented pilots would have struggled to regain control.