An Amazon cargo plane that overshot a runway at Miami International Airport slammed into a van transporting seven employees from an airline cleaning company, federal officials said Monday.
Five people died and five people were injured in the crash that took place Sunday, Sept. 6. Officials have not released the identities of those killed. National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy did not say how many people in the van survived or the status of the pilot and copilot.
However, she did say her team has not had a chance yet to speak to the crew on board the airplane. Videos of the aftermath shows two people being taken out of the cockpit through a window.
Homendy called the scene “devastating.”
“Utter devastation,”she said at a news
conference Monday. “You can see tire marks that continue through the grass. The van is torn apart. … There’s debris everywhere.”
What caused an Amazon cargo plane to crash, killing five people
A NTSB team of 32 people is on the scene collecting evidence, which is expected to take about a week.
Homendy said it was too early to speculate what caused the crash, but investigators did recover the flight data recorder and the voice recorder. Witnesses who may have videos or photos of the crash are asked to send them to witness@ntsb.gov.
Among the items investigators will review is whether an engineered materials arrestor system, or EMAS, would have helped prevent the crash. Some airports have these systems, made of crushable lightweight concrete, at the end of the runways, but Miami International does not.
The flight was the airplane’s third of the day. It originated in Cincinnati, flew to Miami and then went on to San Juan, Puerto Rico. The final, fatal flight was from San Juan to Miami. The aircraft came to a final resting stop 1,300 feet past its intended runway.
When will normal operations resume at Miami International Airport after Amazon cargo crash?
That was unknown Monday.
Homendy said the priority at this point is the recovery effort and investigation. She said there is still a significant amount of fuel in the area that needs to be removed, including on the plane.
She also said authorities want to allow for time to work with the families of those who died.
“The investigation and access to the aircraft can wait,” Homendy said. “Reuniting families with their loved ones is most important and we want to respect that process.”
Staff writers Kim Luciani, Karissa Waddick and John Pacenti contributed to this report.
Michelle Spitzer is a journalist for The USA TODAY NETWORK-FLORIDA. As the network’s Rapid Response reporter, she covers Florida’s breaking news. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at https://floridatoday.com/newsletters
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami plane crash: NTSB says Amazon plane hit van with 7 people aboard
