MIAMI — Federal officials are investigating after an Amazon cargo plane overran a runway on Sunday and struck an airline cleaning contractor van, killing five people and injuring five others.
The incident occurred at Miami International Airport, National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said during a news conference on Monday.
Homendy said the 2012 white Ford Ecoline van was owned by Professional Ocean Service Corporation and seven people were inside the vehicle, the Miami Herald reported. The Boeing 767-33A, which was operated by Miami-based 21 Air, also hit a Toyota Corolla Cross, according to the newspaper.
Homendy called the scene of the crash “utter devastation.”
Only the pilot and co-pilot were on the aircraft, The New York Times reported.
The crash caused a full ground stop at the airport that lasted approximately three hours, according to the Herald. Two runways remain closed.
As the Boeing 767-300 began its descent in Miami, it flew past the usual landing zone for Runway 30, the newspaper reported.
The aircraft, weighing more than 100 tons, remained airborne as it descended deep into the runway, CNN reported. By the time the aircraft reached the end of the runway, it was still moving forward at 130 mph, according to the cable news network.
The debris caused by the crash included vehicle airbags and “fencing everywhere,” Homendy said, according to The Associated Press.
“It’s pretty extensive,” she said. “Hard to see and I’m sure it must have been very difficult for the responders as well.”
Homendy said the plane went 130 feet beyond the paved surface of the runway, the Herald reported. It struck navigational equipment and then hit the van. It then barreled through a perimeter fence and smashed through a second fence before stopping at a lot containing Tesla robotaxis, according to the newspaper.
The van was “torn apart,” Homendy said.
“It certainly must have been devastating,” she said.
Three people were critically injured and two others were hospitalized with less severe injuries, the AP reported.
Recovery crews were able to retrieve the aircraft’s black box, Homendy said.
The aircraft flew from Cincinnati to Miami and then to San Juan, Puerto Rico, according to the AP. It was returning to Miami when it overran the runway.
The NTSB will hold another news conference Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET, CNN reported.