MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — Investigators were set to talk to the pilots and air traffic controllers who were involved in the recent fatal cargo plane crash in Miami-Dade County, according to National Transportation Safety Board officials.
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Five people died, and five people were injured after a Boeing 767-300 overtook Miami International Airport’s runway 30-12 shortly after 1:50 p.m. on Sunday and struck two occupied vehicles, according to the NTSB.
“No indication in the recorded data that speed brakes or thrust were deployed,” Chihoon Shin, the NTSB’s lead investigator, said on Tuesday night.
Preliminary analysis of the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder indicated that the pilots considered aborting the landing for takeoff, according to the NTSB.
Evidence gathering continued at the crash site on Wednesday.
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“We are going to be on scene for about a week,“ NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said on Tuesday night.
Homendy said she planned to release the cockpit voice recorder’s details after the NTSB investigators’ interviews with the pilots, which were scheduled for Wednesday.
AUG. 6 CRASH
The Boeing operating as Prime Air Flight 798 struck a white 2012 Ford E-150 Econoline van, owned by Professional Ocean Service Corp., a cleaning company, according to the NTSB.
“There were a total of seven in that van,” Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz said on Tuesday morning.
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Cordero-Stutz said five of the van’s occupants died. They were Rolando Aleman Leon, 55; Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo, 53; Julio C. Pineda, 75; Carlos Acosta Fajardo, 53; and Javierkys Reyes Quevedo, 47.
“The Econoline van is torn apart,” Homendy said on Monday.
After striking the van at MIA, the Boeing 767-300 struck a Toyota Corolla Cross LE SUV that was traveling on Northwest 67th Avenue, according to Homendy.
“The SUV, you can see airbags, the surrounding airbags,” Homendy said.
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Miami-Dade Fire Rescue personnel reported taking the five injured to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center and the Jackson South Medical Center.
Cordero-Stutz said three remained hospitalized on Tuesday. MDSO identified them as Eugenio Corredor, 79, whose condition is critical; Ridoel Averhoff Diaz, 32, whose condition is critical; and Roosevelt Sebastian Perdomo Torres, 36, whose condition is stable.
Corredor, who was born in Colombia and lives in Hialeah, was the driver of the green Toyota.
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The pilot and the co-pilot were released from the hospital, according to Cordero-Stutz. MDSO identified them as Jaime Felipe Silva Molina, 37, and Joseph Carol, 55, who both suffered minor injuries.
THE JET
Cargo airline 21 Air was operating Prime Air Flight 798 for Amazon on the Boeing 767-300, manufactured in 1994, according to the NTSB.
On Sunday, before the crash, the jet flew from Cincinnati to MIA, from MIA to Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and back to MIA, according to the NTSB.
A witness’s video shows there were towering stormy clouds when the jet landed on the MIA runway.
Since there wasn’t an Engineered Materials Arresting System, or EMAS, to stop the jet, it traveled for 1,300 feet “past the paved surface” before coming to a standstill on a field near parked Tesla Robotaxis, according to Homendy.
“You can see on the paved surface tire marks that continue through the grass,” Homendy said. “There is debris everywhere.”
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Witnesses recorded videos showing dark smoke billowing from the crash site. On Sunday, Miami-Dade Fire Chief Raied “Ray” Jadallah said there was a “complex fire.”
MDFR deployed more than 60 units. Firefighters reported using foam to help extinguish the flames in the engine compartment.
Rohan Ellis, a witness, shared a video showing a man climbing out of the cockpit through a window and using the firefighters’ ladder. The jet’s nose was on the ground.
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TRAVEL AND TRAFFIC
Cordero-Stutz asked travelers to check with airlines for the status of their flights.
Cordero-Stutz also warned drivers that 67th Avenue was closed to the public from 25th to 32nd streets.
Homendy said air controllers were “going through a difficult time, not just from the tragedy, but also trying to get through a capacity-constrained airport.”
Homendy asked witnesses to share photos and videos with the NTSB team via e-mail at [email protected].
Cordero-Stutz asked the victims’ relatives to contact MDSO victims’ advocates at 305-471-1900.
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