His latest medical certificate issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) required him to wear corrective lenses in flight.

[2]: 13–15 The first officer was 44-year-old William Frye, who had been with FedEx Express since 1997, having previously served as a United States Navy pilot for 16 years.

However, after receiving a weather update at 5:24, the flight crew changed to a straight-in visual approach to Runway 09.

Captain Walsh responded, "Stable" while first officer Frye said "Gonna have to stay just a little bit higher...

"[2] At 5:37, with the landing gear lowered and the flaps at 30 degrees, the aircraft impacted 50-foot (15 m)-high trees located 3,650 feet (1,110 m) short of the runway.

First officer Frye also underwent an eye test after the accident, revealing that it was difficult for him to distinguish between red, green and white.

The NTSB concluded that based on those results, this made it difficult for Frye to distinguish between the color of the PAPI lights.