Investigators have recovered the flight and voice recorders from an Amazon cargo plane that overran the runway at Miami International Airport, killing five people, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said Monday (local time).All five victims were in a van and an SUV that were among several vehicles struck by the jet outside airport property. The van was carrying seven people from a cleaning company.Homendy called the scene of Sunday’s crash “utter devastation.”“It’s (debris) pretty extensive. I’m sure it must have been very difficult for the responders as well. I would describe it in one word as devastating, utter devastation,” Homendy said.The van, owned by airline cleaning contractor Professional Ocean Service Corp., was “torn apart,” she added.The NTSB will issue further information Tuesday (local time), potentially including the aircraft’s speed as confirmed by the flight data recorder.The incident also left three people critically injured and two others hospitalised with severe injuries.
Federal investigators examining cause of deadly overrun
Investigators are examining whether the plane touched down too late to stop safely.Video of the cargo jet’s Sunday landing appears to show the Boeing 767 remaining airborne well down the runway before touching down. Investigators will seek to determine exactly where it landed, whether that was beyond the normal touchdown zone and why the pilots did not abort the landing.They will also examine the plane’s speed and braking, weather and wind conditions, mechanical condition and other factors that may have contributed to the crash.The aircraft flew from Cincinnati to Miami and then to San Juan, Puerto Rico, before returning to Miami. It overran the runway around 2 pm, crossing a road used by warehouse workers and other businesses surrounding the airport.The crash sent thick black smoke into the sky and trapped the pilot and copilot in the cockpit, while some people were trapped in vehicles. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue crews also had to free a person trapped beneath a vehicle.
