Federal investigators on Monday began examining the way an Amazon cargo jet landed on Sunday, as they try to determine what caused it to barrel off a runway at Miami international airport and crash, killing five people and injuring five others.
There were early indications that they were likely to focus on whether the plane touched down too late in its glide path onto the tarmac at the busy hub to enable it to stop safely.
Video footage showed the Boeing ۷۶۷ jet wobbling slightly, coming in fast and flying relatively far along the runway before it touched down, with dark storm clouds clearly visible in the sky behind it.
The aircraft overshot the runway around ۲pm Sunday after arriving in south Florida from San Juan, Puerto Rico, and plowed across a perimeter road used by warehouse workers and other businesses before coming to rest in a parking lot. With its nose tipped forward, flames then burst out of part of the jet and thick, dark smoke began billowing into the air.
Authorities have not named the five who died or the five people injured, three critically, or released exact details on where the casualties were located.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said chair Jennifer Homendy would hold a news conference later on Monday. US transportation secretary Sean Duffy said on social media that the agency would “assess the scene after an Amazon cargo plane overran the runway”.
The crash trapped the pilot and copilot in the cockpit and some occupants in cars, said Miami-Dade rescue fire chief Ray Jadallah said. The agency said crews also had to extricate a person who was trapped under a vehicle.
Jadallah described the incident as a “very complex situation” where the plane crashed into multiple vehicles as it ran off the tarmac, trapping several people inside their vehicles.
Video of the Amazon Prime Air Boeing ۷۶۷-۳۳A, operated by contractor ۲۱ Air, posted to social media show it touching down far along the runway. Other posted footage shows the plane with a left hand wheel of the landing gear still a little above the ground as the jet speeds down the tarmac, apparently abnormally fast, and then it overruns the end of the runway, where the right undercarriage collapsed and the wing caught fire.
Typically, the landing zone is within the first ۳,۰۰۰ ft (۹۱۴m) of a runway. Aviation safety expert Steve Arroyo said if it was beyond that area, the plane should normally have aborted the landing and gone around for another attempt.
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.
Storm clouds can be seen in the area and strong winds reported. Schiavo said that if the plane had a tail wind, that could have contributed to it floating further down the runway.
“A tail wind 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.
Miami airport is not equipped with “arresting beds”, systems of lightweight, crushable material that the federal aviation authority (FAA) says have been installed at more than ۱۲۰ airports nationwide at the end of runways to help safely stop planes that overshoot.
Some ۲۰۰ emergency personnel responded to the incident, finding the plane with heavy flames and smoke from a complex engine compartment fire, the fire department said.
The flight operators, ۲۱ Air, is a cargo carrier based in North Carolina. The ۳۲-year-old Boeing ۷۶۷ was originally built to carry passengers and flew for several airlines for more than two decades before being converted to a cargo plane in ۲۰۱۵, according to flight-tracking site Flightradar۲۴.
More than ۱۶۰ flights were canceled and nearly ۳۲۵ delayed by late Sunday, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks flight disruptions. Officials from Orlando international airport, more than ۲۰۰ miles north of Miami, said some flights were diverted there. Flights later resumed, although two runways at the busy airport remained out of service on Monday morning.
Kelly Nantel, an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement on Sunday: “We can confirm that an Amazon Air plane operated by ۲۱ Air experienced an incident while attempting to land at Miami International Airport today. And Amazon said in a further statement that it would cooperate with any investigation.
“We’re heartbroken to learn that five people lost their lives in today’s incident at Miami international airport,” the company said. “Our deepest sympathies go out to the families, loved ones, and all those affected by this devastating loss.”
The Associated Press contributed reporting
