The Amazon Air Boeing 767-300 freighter that crashed on approach to Miami lacked wind data before the accident, the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) says in a preliminary finding.

The aircraft, operated for Amazon by Atlas Air, was flying a cargo service into Miami when the accident occurred. According to the NTSB's preliminary information, the flight crew did not have current wind data available as they approached the airport.

Cargo Facts, which first reported the finding, links the missing wind information to the sequence of events that preceded the crash.

The NTSB investigation remains at a preliminary stage. The board has not yet issued a probable cause determination, and its final report — which typically follows months of forensic work on flight data recorders, air traffic control tapes and aircraft systems — will determine what role the absence of wind data played, if any, in the accident sequence.

Wind information on approach matters because crews use it to manage speed, thrust and flap configuration during landing. Without current readings, pilots fall back on stale or estimated values, which can affect touchdown performance — a variable that carries particular weight for a heavy freighter on a night cargo operation.

Amazon Air's network depends on contracted operators, with Atlas Air among the carriers flying the 767 converted freighters that move the e-commerce company's overnight volumes through hubs including Miami. Any operational finding tied to approach procedures or weather-data availability would therefore have implications across the wet-lease operators in Amazon's system, not just a single fleet.

The 767-300BCF involved is part of a conversion programme that has supplied the backbone of Amazon's heavy freighter capacity. Boeing's freighter conversions and Atlas's crewing of those aircraft together form one of the largest dedicated cargo fleets flying for a single shipper.

The NTSB says the investigation continues, and further details will emerge as the board analyzes recorded data and interviews the crew. A final report with conclusions and safety recommendations will follow in due course.