MIAMI (AP) — The five people killed when an Amazon cargo jet ran off the runway at Miami International Airport were all inside a van used to shuttle crews that clean planes, authorities said.
The jet overran the runway while landing Sunday. It slammed into the van on airport property, careened through a fence and then smashed an SUV on a city street.
Five other people were injured. The pilot and co-pilot have been released from the hospital, Miami-Dade County Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz said Tuesday. Two people remain in critical condition, while a third is in stable condition, she said.
A system to stop speeding jets will likely be one focus of the investigation
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash. One focus will be on the lack of a system to slow and stop speeding jets at the end of runways.
Miami is not one of the 120 airports in the U.S. with lightweight, crushable material that the Federal Aviation Administration says has saved around 500 lives.
Even without a runway excursion system, Miami’s airport appears to be compliant with federal rules because it has a 1,000-foot safety buffer at the end of its runways, experts said.
NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said her agency’s goal is to prevent tragedies, but runway excursions continue to happen even after the board has suggested installing the systems in the past.
“Our recommendations must be implemented or we’re going to be here again,” she said at a Monday news conference.
Investigators recovered the flight data recorder and the information is being reviewed. Interviews with the pilot, co-pilot, air traffic controllers and others are being scheduled, Homendy said.
Victims were in a cleaning service van
Amazon said in a statement that it is cooperating with the investigation and the company’s deepest sympathies go to the victims and their families.
The five people killed were all in a van owned by Professional Ocean Service Corp., a company that cleans planes. The company said it wouldn’t comment on the crash out of respect for the families who lost loved ones.
“Our employees are far more than the people who work beside us each day, they are family, and they are deeply loved. Our hearts and prayers are with every employee and every family whose lives have been forever changed,” the company said in a statement Tuesday.
The Miami-Dade sheriff identified the deceased as Rolando Aleman Leon, 55; Yoel Rodriguez Narajo, 53; Julio C. Pineda, 75; Carlos Acosta Fajardo, 53; and Javierkys Reyes Quevedo, 47.
The Amazon jet was landing after a two-hour flight from Puerto Rico as storms brewed around the Miami airport.
Jet appeared to hover for a long time over the runway
The NTSB said the plane barreled roughly 1,300 feet past the end of the runway.
Homendy called the scene “utter devastation,” with pieces of the vehicles, air bags, destroyed navigational equipment and fencing along the plane’s route. She said she had to be careful because jet fuel was still all around 24 hours after the crash.
