'Utter Destruction': NTSB Chair Describes Wake Of Amazon Flight Crash That Left 5 Dead, 5 Hurt In Miami

MIAMI, FL — U.S. National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy painted a grim scene on Monday afternoon as she recounted what her investigators uncovered in the aftermath of the Amazon plane crash at Miami International Airport that left five dead and five injured.

The airplane was operated as 21 Air Flight 7598 from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Miami, Florida, and struck vehicles before coming to rest in a field, authorities said.

The plane overran the runway after landing around 2 p.m. at the airport, hitting multiple vehicles near the 2100 block of Northwest 42nd Avenue, according to authorities.

Speaking to reporters at the airport Monday afternoon, Homendy described the scene as "devastating, utter devastation."

"I mean, you can see on the paved surface, tire marks that continue through the grass," she recalled. "There's debris everywhere. The Econoline van is torn apart. It is, you know, certainly must have been devastating."

The SUV's surrounding airbags were all deployed, and components from the vehicles, both the passenger vehicles and the aircraft itself, as well as navigational components. could be seen.

There was "debris from the airport," and "fencing everywhere," she said.

“It was hard to see, and I'm sure it must have been very difficult for the responders as well,” she added.

Of the five surviving patients, three were taken to a local trauma center in critical condition, and the other two were brought to area hospitals, according to authorities.

Crews also conducted search and rescue operations for the pilots and co-pilots, authorities said. A person was trapped under one of the vehicles and had to be extricated, according to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue.

"Deepest Condolences To The Families Who Lost Loved Ones"

Before starting her briefing, Homendy said she wanted to pause for a moment "to extend our deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones in this terrible tragedy, and to the families of those who who suffered serious or minor injuries."

"We can only imagine all that you're going through," she said. "Know that our hearts go out to all of you, and know that we are deeply, deeply committed to our duty, our responsibilities as an investigative agency, to determine how this accident occurred, why it happened, with one goal in mind: safety, and that's to prevent it from happening again."

"We do that by issuing safety recommendations in our final report at the end of the investigation, along with probable cause and findings," she said. "Those safety recommendations are aimed at preventing the next tragedy, and then we work diligently to make sure those recommendations are implemented, and lives are saved."

Details from the Scene

What NTSB investigators know so far is that the flight was arriving from San Juan, Puerto Rico, with two crew members on board, and it was the third flight for the aircraft, with it having gone from Cincinnati to Miami, Miami to San Juan, and San Juan back to Miami, Homendy said.

It overran runway 30 on landing, struck navigational aids, and equipment, then impacted a 2012 white Ford Econoline van owned by Professional Ocean Service Corporation, which is a contract cleaning company for the airlines; in the van were seven persons on board, according to Homendy.

The aircraft then traveled through a perimeter fence and impacted a Toyota Corolla Cross LE, which was traveling on Northwest 67th Avenue, and then continued into the grass, and impacted another fence line, which separated an area where Tesla robo taxis were stationed, she said, noting that in total, it was about 1,300 feet past the paved surface.

"Now, I want to set expectations for providing investigative information tonight," she said. "I'm really only going to talk about our process: what we did today, what we're going to do tomorrow, and there's a reason for that. We have a very large team."

The NTSB team includes 32 people who began arriving on scene at 6 p.m. Sunday night.

"That continued through the night with many of our personnel going to Fort Lauderdale, driving here, and then we had personnel arriving throughout the day, really through the last half hour," she said, adding that the team was all en-route and she arrived Monday morning and went straight to the scene."

The team has begun collecting investigative information, she said but they don't release it publicly until it's been verified.

"Certainly, I walked the the path from the Runway past the vehicles and to where the aircraft came to rest," she said. "We had to be somewhat cautious today because, first and foremost, is our concern for the safety of our personnel. We are a safety agency."

"There's fuel everywhere that will have to be remediated," she said, adding that authorities are also removing fuel from the aircraft, and "as we speak, recovery operations continue."

The recovery of victims is "most important," according to Homendy.

""The investigation and access to the aircraft, as well as evidence, can wait while that goes for that the recovery operations go forward — that is most important," she said. "Reuniting families with their loved ones is most important, and so we want to respect that process and do what we can in our investigative duties, but allow what's most important to go forward."

She referred questions about the identities of those who died and the crash's survivors conditions to local authorities.

Flight Data Recorder Recovered, Investigators To Break Into Teams

Investigators were able to recover the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder that is going back to the NTSB's headquarters tonight "in just a couple of hours," where it can be evaluated and downloaded, according to Homendy.

On Tuesday, the team of 32 investigators will break up into specific areas to look at areas of an investigation and collect information, she said.

The groups will focus on areas like operations and human performance, looking at the history of the accident flight, flight crew experience, training, 21 Air LLC policies and procedures, their relationship, and the contractual relationship with Amazon.

They will also look at FAA oversight of all involved operators and air traffic control, as well as air traffic services, radar data, and controller -pilot transmissions.

The team will examine aircraft performance, structures, and begin documenting the scene, and looking at the aircraft, and airframe wreckage. There will be another team examining airplane systems, including the components of the airplane's hydraulic, electrical, navigational, pneumatic, and associated systems, as well as instruments and the flight controls.

Another team will also look at the aircraft, airframe wreckage, as well as another team examining the airplane's systems, looking at its hydraulic, electrical, navigational, pneumatic, and associated systems, including instruments and the flight controls.

“We have a team focused on power plants – that's the engines, and then we have a meteorologist specialist here that will begin looking at forecast and weather conditions on landing, and we have a team that will look at airport survival factors and emergency response,” she said. “They will look at notices, any notices to airmen that were issued runway design. They'll look at fire and rescue, and they will look at the lack thereof of an engineered materials arresting system or EMAS.”

The crushable, lightweight material, which is at the end of a runway, safely stops an aircraft.

The Federal Aviation Administration must still be confirmed, and looked at, according to Homendy.

The NTSB’s Transportation Disaster Assistance Team will also work with the families affected by the crash, Homendy said, adding the agency will be in Miami for the week, but will “not be determining probable cause.”

“We are here to document the scene and to collect the perishable evidence,” she said. “One thing the public could really help us with is if you think you have photos or videos or information that is relevant to this investigation, we would ask that you send those in to witness at ntsb.gov.”

“Please only send information that is relevant to this investigation," she said.

The Aftermath Of A Tragedy

A fuel leak remained active, Fire Chief Raied Jadallah said during the press conference.

In a video posted by NBC 6 News, a massive plume of smoke was coming from the aircraft, which appeared to be labeled with the Amazon logo, and fire was visible.

All runways and taxiways at the airport were closed as of 3 p.m., and a ground stop was in effect, according to the Miami-Dade Aviation Department. By later Sunday afternoon, one runway was open, according to the airport.

More than 160 flights were canceled, and nearly 325 were delayed by late Sunday, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks flight disruptions. Officials from Orlando International Airport, more than 200 miles north of Miami, said some flights were diverted there.

The scene was active on Sunday afternoon in Miami, with over 60 fire and rescue agency units and about 200 personnel responding, and the plane remained disabled at the northwest end of the airport.

“Today is an incredibly difficult day for all of us here in Miami-Dade County,” Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said at a press conference Sunday evening.

Background On The Plane

The Federal Aviation Administration identified the plane as affiliated with cargo carrier company 21 Air, while the aviation department said the aircraft was conducting a Prime Air flight. 21 Air's website lists Prime Air among its customers.

"We can confirm that an Amazon Air plane operated by 21 Air experienced an incident while attempting to land at Miami International Airport today," Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in a prepared statement Sunday.

"This is a fast-moving situation, and we're still gathering details. We're working closely with local authorities and officials to understand exactly what happened. Right now, our absolute priority is the safety, well-being, and care of everyone involved. We're doing everything we can to support those affected."

The Boeing 767-300 cargo aircraft had departed from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, according to the FAA, which will investigate the incident.

Initially a passenger plane, the 32-year-old aircraft involved in the crash was later converted to a freighter by a third party, according to Boeing.

"Boeing extends our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives in the accident in Miami," the company said in a prepared statement. "Our hearts go out to those injured and affected by this tragedy. Boeing is supporting the investigation led by the U.S National Transportation Safety Board."

Anyone who believes they may have family involved in the crash is asked to call the sheriff's office at 305-471-2400, Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz said at the press conference.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

This is a breaking story that will be updated. Check back later.