Authorities identify 5 victims killed when Amazon-branded cargo plane overran runway in Miami

Five members of an airline cleaning company were killed Sunday after an Amazon-branded cargo plane overran the runway at a Miami airport, striking the company’s van and a passenger SUV.

The deceased victims are Rolando Aleman, 55, Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo, 53, Julio C Pineda, 75, Carlos Acosta Fajardo, 53, and Javierkys Reyes Quevedo, 47, the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office said at a news conference on Tuesday. They were all in the van, owned by Professional Ocean Service Corp., a contract cleaning company for airline companies.

Five other people were injured in the crash and taken to the hospital, officials said. Eugenio Corredor, 79, and Ridoel Averhoff Diaz, 32, remain in critical condition, and Roosevelt Sebastian Perdomo Torres, 36, is stable.

The two pilots of the Boeing 767-300 aircraft, Jaime Felipe Silva Molina, 37, and Joseph Carol, 55, were treated and released.

The cleaning company said in a statement Tuesday that it was “heartbroken” by the deaths.

“Our employees are far more than the people who work beside us each day, they are family, and they are deeply loved,” the statement read. “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.”

The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office said that the National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation into the crash.

The aircraft was on its third trip that day when it overran the runway during a landing at Miami International Airport, Jennifer Homendy, Chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, said at a Monday news conference. Earlier Sunday, the plane traveled from Cincinnati to Miami, and then Miami to San Juan, Puerto Rico.

It was returning from San Juan when it crashed.

Homendy said that upon landing back in Miami, the plane overran the runway and struck navigational aids and equipment before hitting the cleaning company’s Ford van, which was transporting the crew inside the airport.

The plane then careened through a perimeter fence and struck a Toyota SUV that was traveling on Northwest 67th Avenue outside of the airport. The aircraft continued into the grass where it hit a fence line, which separated an area where Tesla robotaxis were stationed, Homendy said.

She described the scene as “devastating” and said the van had been “torn apart.”

Cellphone footage obtained by NBC South Florida showed someone jumping out of the plane after the crash. A photo sent to NBC News showed a crew member being taken away on a gurney at the airport.

An Amazon spokesperson had previously said that the flight was operated by 21 Air.

Keith Winters, 21 Air’s CEO, said in a message on its website that it is cooperating with federal investigators and offered condolences to the victims’ families.

Homendy said it was too early to release much information about the factors that contributed to the crash, but said the plane’s flight data and cockpit voice recorder have been recovered.

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