An airline cleaning company was mourning the loss of five employees who were identified as those killed Sunday when an Amazon-branded cargo plane overran the runway at Miami International Airport, striking the company’s van and a passenger SUV.
Investigators continue work Monday to determine what caused the crash of an Amazon cargo plane at Miami International Airport.Joe Raedle / Getty Images
The deceased were Rolando Aleman Leon, 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 in a news conference 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 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.”
A neighbor of Pineda, who lived in Hialeah, remembered him as jovial and kind and said there would “lots of music, lots of fun” when his children visited him.
“He was someone who was always laughing and telling stories,” Alberto Leandro said. “You’d see him and he’d crack a joke in the elevator.”
Leandro said Pineda was known as “El mago” — “The Magician” — because he was always doing magic tricks.
Fellow neighbor Elena Forte said Pineda was from Havana, Cuba. She got to know Pineda after he came over to introduce himself and to let her know to reach out to him if she ever needed anything.
“He was always calm, would say hello, and was always laughing,” she said. “He was a really good person.”
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, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said at a news conference Monday. 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 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 video 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.
One of Leon’s neighbors said he was very kind and would help her by taking her to appointments. A family member said Leon and his co-workers were at the end of their shift when the crash happened. The family member said Leon’s son was devastated.