Federal investigators probe Amazon jet crash that killed 5 in Miami

MIAMI — The five people killed when an Amazon cargo jet ran off a runway at Miami International Airport were all inside a van carrying seven people from a cleaning company and an SUV hit outside airport property, National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said Monday.

Homendy called the scene of Sunday’s crash “utter devastation.” She didn’t detail how many people were in the SUV or where the dead were located.

Homendy walked the route the Boeing 767 followed, noting tire marks from the pavement into the grass, the destroyed van carrying the cleaning crew, torn fencing, navigational equipment and the crushed SUV outside airport property.

The debris included vehicle air bags, equipment from the vehicles, the airplane and the airport, and “fencing everywhere,” Homendy said.

“It’s pretty extensive. Hard to see and I’m sure it must have been very difficult for the responders as well,” Homendy said.

The airplane, all told, traveled about 1,300 feet past the paved surface. Debris was everywhere, she said.

“I would describe it in one word as devastating, utter devastation,” Homendy said.

The van with seven people inside — owned by Professional Ocean Service Corp., an airline cleaning contractor — was “torn apart,” she said.

Homendy said the NTSB would issue more information on Tuesday, possibly including information on speed that is confirmed by the flight data recorder.

Federal investigators examining the crash spent Monday determining whether the plane touched down too late to stop safely.

Video of Sunday’s landing appears to show the Boeing 767 remaining airborne well down the runway before touching down. Aviation experts said investigators will seek to determine exactly where the plane landed, whether it was beyond the normal touchdown zone, and why the pilots did not abandon the landing.

Investigators will also examine the plane’s speed and braking, weather and wind conditions, the aircraft’s mechanical condition and other factors that could have contributed to the deadly overrun.

The aircraft on Sunday flew from Cincinnati to Miami and then to San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was returning to Miami when it overran the runway around 2 p.m. and plowed across a road used by warehouse workers and other businesses that surround the airport.

Aside from the five who died, three people were critically injured and two others were hospitalized with less severe injuries, officials said.

The crash, which sent thick black smoke billowing into the sky, trapped the pilot and co-pilot in the cockpit and some occupants in cars, said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Ray Jadallah. The agency said crews also had to extricate a person who was trapped under a vehicle.

The typical landing zone for a plane is within the first 3,000 feet of a runway, experts said. If the cargo jet was beyond that area, it should have aborted the landing and gone around for another try, aviation safety expert Steve Arroyo said.

Mary Schiavo, who is a pilot and former inspector general of the Transportation Department, said video posted online shows the Amazon plane floating above the runway for an extended period without flaring the nose upward to force the main landing gear onto the ground.

It wasn’t raining at the time, but dark storm clouds loomed and strong winds were reported. Schiavo said that if the plane had a tailwind, that could have contributed to it floating farther down the runway.

“A tailwind would certainly add to your troubles if you’ve already given up a good chunk of the runway by not touching down and landing right away,” Schiavo said.

The Miami airport is not equipped with arresting systems that the Federal Aviation Administration says have been installed at more than 120 airports nationwide to safely stop planes that do go past the end of a runway. Those beds of lightweight, crushable material at the end of a runway have been credited by the FAA with helping save at least 497 lives aboard planes that overran runways.

Miami’s airport appears to be in compliance and wasn’t required to have an arresting system because it has a 1,000-foot safety buffer at the end of its runways, said Mike O’Donnell, the FAA’s former director of airport safety and accident investigations.

The Prime Air plane came to rest beside a roadway near two semitrucks, images showed. The aircraft appeared to be resting on its belly and was largely intact despite the fire.

The crash halted flights at the busy travel hub for much of Sunday afternoon and continued to hamper air travel into Monday.

Miami International Airport said that two of its four runways remained closed Monday and that operations were to be affected throughout the day because of aircraft and flight crews not arriving there due to Sunday’s cancellations after the crash.

An airport spokesperson said there were 160 cancellations and more than 300 delayed flights Sunday, plus an additional 69 canceled flights Monday through midafternoon. Flight tracking sites were reporting widespread delays at the airport.

Amazon said in a statement that it would cooperate with any investigation.

“We’re heartbroken to learn that five people lost their lives,” the company said. “Our deepest sympathies go out to the families, loved ones, and all those affected by this devastating loss.”

Fischer, Levy and Collins write for the Associated Press. Levy reported from Harrisburg, Pa., and Collins reported from Columbia, S.C. AP writer Josh Funk in Omaha contributed.