Miami (AFP) – Officials have recovered the flight data recorders from an Amazon cargo plane that overran the runway in Miami and slammed into two vehicles, killing five people, authorities said Monday. One of the vehicles struck in Sunday’s accident was a cleaning-services van carrying seven people on airport property, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) chief Jennifer Homendy said. The jet then tore through a perimeter fence, bashing an SUV traveling on a public road and hitting a second fence line separating an area where robotaxis were parked, she said.
While Homendy refused to discuss the health status of the plane’s two pilots, she said the victims were limited to the people in the two vehicles that were struck. “We do want to interview the crew,” she said. “As we speak, recovery operations continue.” Homendy described a “devastating” scene at Florida’s busiest airport, where hundreds of flights were delayed as investigators began probing the crash site and emergency responders continued to recover the remains of some of the victims in the accident.
“We were able to recover the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder,” which were being sent to the NTSB for analysis, she said. “The investigation and access to the aircraft as well as evidence can wait while the recovery operation goes forward,” Homendy said. “That is most important, reuniting families with their loved ones.”
She said the plane was a Boeing 767 made in 1994 and operated by 21 Air LLC, based in Miami and contracted to Amazon. It was on its third flight of the day and was arriving from San Juan, Puerto Rico. “In total, it was about 1,300 feet (400 meters) past the paved surface” when the plane finally came to a halt, she said, adding that she walked the full length of that path beyond the runway.
“There’s debris everywhere,” along with spilled fuel and fuel inside the aircraft that needs to be removed, Homendy said. “The Econoline van is torn apart,” she said, referring to the first vehicle hit. “It certainly must have been devastating.”
© 2024 AFP
