The five people who died when an Amazon cargo jet overran a runway at Miami International Airport were all riders in a company van used to shuttle workers who clean aircraft, Miami-Dade County Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz confirmed Tuesday. The crash, which occurred Sunday afternoon as the Boeing 767-300 attempted to land, ripped through airport property and onto a public roadway, leaving a scene federal investigators described as nothing short of devastating.
Investigators, first responders, and aviation experts have spent the days since piecing together how a routine landing turned into one of the deadliest ground incidents at a major American airport in recent years. What emerged is a grim picture of a plane that stayed airborne far longer than it should have, then plowed through a fence, a road, and multiple vehicles before finally stopping.
Who Were the Victims
Sheriff Cordero-Stutz identified the five people killed as Rolando Aleman, 55; Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo, 53; Julio C. Pineda, 75; Carlos Acosta Fajardo, 53; and Javierkys Reyes Quevedo, 47.[1] Officials noted that the deceased ranged in age from 47 to 75.[2]
All five were employees of Professional Ocean Service Corp., an aircraft cleaning contractor. The five people killed were all in a van owned by Professional Ocean Service Corp., a company that cleans planes.[2] The company has largely stayed quiet publicly, saying it wouldn’t comment on the crash out of respect for the families who lost loved ones, noting that its employees are far more than the people who work beside each other each day, they are family, and they are deeply loved, and that its hearts and prayers are with every employee and every family whose lives have been forever changed.[3]
How the Crash Unfolded
The aircraft involved was Amazon Air Flight 7598, operated by Miami-based cargo carrier 21 Air. The FAA said the flight overran the runway while landing around 2 p.m. after departing from Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, earlier Sunday.[4] It had been a busy day for the plane; the aircraft had flown from Cincinnati to Miami and then to San Juan, Puerto Rico,[1] before returning for what would be its final approach.
According to CNN’s reconstruction of the flight’s final moments, as the Amazon cargo plane began its descent under dark clouds over Miami International Airport on Sunday afternoon, it flew past the usual landing zone for Runway 30, with the Boeing 767-300, weighing more than 100 tons, remaining airborne deep into the runway as its left rear gear continued to bounce along the pavement, which rapidly disappeared ahead.[5] By the time the plane finally touched down for good, it had little runway left to work with. By the time it reached the runway’s end, the jet was still barreling forward at 130 mph, tracking data from Flightradar24 showed.[5]
The Path of Destruction
Unable to stop in time, the plane left the paved surface entirely. The aircraft hurtled across a small grassy patch, then through a chain-link fence with razor wire, and concrete barriers designed to keep cars out of the secure area crumbled as the jet headed straight for a four-lane road.[5] NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy later detailed just how far off course the jet had traveled, noting that investigators found the plane ended up around 1,300 feet past the paved surface.[6]
The van carrying the cleaning crew never had a chance. The Boeing 767-300 that overran the runway at Miami International Airport on Sunday struck a 2012 Ford van carrying seven people,[5] Homendy said. The vehicle, a white Ford Econoline, collided with the aircraft while carrying seven people inside, and was owned by Professional Ocean Service Corporation, a company that cleans aircraft.[4] Homendy did not mince words when describing what she saw at the scene, calling it “utter devastation.”[7]
Injuries and Aftermath at the Scene
Beyond the five fatalities, five more people were hurt in the crash. Five other people were injured, with the pilot and co-pilot released from the hospital, Sheriff Cordero-Stutz said Tuesday, while two people remain in critical condition and a third is in stable condition.[2] The plane didn’t stop after hitting the van either. The jet overran the runway while landing Sunday, slammed into the van on airport property, careened through a fence and then smashed an SUV on a city street.[2]
Fire crews faced a chaotic and dangerous scene as they worked to reach survivors. The crash, which sent thick black smoke billowing into the sky, trapped the pilot and copilot in the cockpit and some occupants in cars, said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Ray Jadallah, and the agency said crews also had to extricate a person who was trapped under a vehicle.[1] Dramatic video captured in the immediate aftermath showed one crew member escaping the burning wreckage on foot; new cellphone video captured a pilot jumping out of an Amazon cargo jet moments after it overran a runway at Miami International Airport and crashed on Sunday.[1]
