Authorities have released the names of the five victims who died after an Amazon-branded cargo plane overshot a runway at Miami International Airport.
The Boeing 767 cargo jet veered off the runway during an attempted landing on Sunday, crashing into two vehicles in a deadly sequence of events.
Officials said the aircraft first struck a van on airport grounds, tore through a perimeter fence and continued onto a nearby road, where it obliterated an SUV.
On Tuesday, Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz confirmed that the victims killed in the vehicles were Rolando Aleman, 55; Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo, 53; Julio C Pineda, 75; Carlos Acosta Fajardo, 53; and Javierkys Reyes Quevedo, 47.
All five were traveling in a van belonging to Professional Ocean Service Corp., a contract cleaning company that provides services to airlines, NBC News reported.
‘Our employees are far more than the people who work beside us each day; they are family, and they are deeply loved,’ the company said in a statement.
‘Our hearts and prayers are with every employee and every family whose lives have been forever changed. We grieve with those who lost a loved one and pray for the healing and recovery of those who were injured.’
Three other people are still hospitalized, the sheriff said. Eugenio Corredor, 79, and Ridoel Averhoff Diaz, 32, are in critical condition. Roosevelt Sebastian Perdomo Torres, 36, is in stable condition.
The five people killed when an Amazon cargo jet ran off the runway at Miami International Airport have been identified
The Boeing 767 jet barreled off the runway and slammed into two vehicles as it tried to land on Sunday
Two of the men were passengers in the van, and the third was injured on the ground, authorities said.
READ MORE: TV Star’s Fight to Overturn Death Sentence in Egyptian Jail
The Prime Air copilots, Joseph Carroll, 55, and Jaime Filipe Silva Molina, 37, have been released from the hospital, the Miami Herald reported.
The Amazon cargo jet slammed into a 2012 Ford van before it skidded across the ground and hit another car, Jennifer Homendy, the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), said on Monday.
Homendy said seven people working for a contract airline cleaning company were inside the van. It is unclear how many were in the other car.
The plane was arriving from San Juan, Puerto Rico – the aircraft’s third trip of the day, according to Homendy.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation, but a preliminary report by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) found that the airport is not equipped with the Engineered Materials Arresting System (EMAS) that has been installed at more than 120 airports nationwide.
The system places beds of lightweight, crushable material at the end of a runway to help bring planes that overshoot the tarmac safely to a stop, the agency said.
Homendy said the plane overshot the runway, making it about 1,300 feet past the paved surface.
National Transportation Safety Board Chief said the plane overshot the runway, making it about 1,300ft past the paved surface
Terrifying dispatch audio obtained by the Daily Mail revealed the horrific moment rescuers counted the dead after the crash.
‘This aircraft overran the runway and crossed 67th Avenue. It struck a truck,’ one emergency responder said, according to the audio.
‘We do have a patient on the ground. We’re looking at surveilling the area for more patients.’