'Lord, you have my soul': Cargo plane crash voice transcript released

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Thursday, December 19, 2019
NTSB releases report on Atlas cargo jet crash
The agency released its findings Wednesday, nearly 10 months after the jet went down in Trinity Bay.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The final words said by crew members on board the doomed Atlas Air flight that crashed this past February into Trinity Bay suggests a loss of control in the aircraft.

The National Transportation Safety Board released a transcript of the plane's cockpit voice recorder on Wednesday.

RELATED: Flight recording suggests crashed cargo jet crew lost control

Pilot Sean Archuleta, Capt. Ricky Blakely and First Officer Conrad Jules Aska were killed Feb. 23, when the Boeing 767 cargo jetliner heading to Houston went in nose first. The crash left a debris field three-quarters of a mile long in Trinity Bay.

Less than 30 seconds before the end of the recording, Aska was concerned about the speed of the plane just before it stalled while on approach to Bush Intercontinental Airport.

"(Where's) my speed, my speed," Aska said in an elevated voice according to the report. "We're stalling."

Four seconds later, Aska is heard saying, "Oh Lord, have mercy (on) myself."

Just seconds before the recording ends, someone can be heard shouting, "Pull up."

The final words heard are from Aska, who said, "Lord, you have my soul."

In March, the NTSB said its preliminary review of the audio found that 18 seconds before the flight's blackbox recording ends, there were "crew communications consistent with a loss of control of the aircraft."

SEE ALSO: TIMELINE: Moments before Boeing 767 crashed into Trinity Bay in Chambers Co.

The Boeing 767 jetliner was flying from Miami to Houston and was operating on behalf of Amazon, according to Atlas Air Worldwide at the time. A distress call was never made, authorities said.

You can read the entire cockpit voice recorder report here.