By DAVID FISCHER, JOSH FUNK and JEFFREY COLLINS
MIAMI (AP) — The five people killed when an Amazon cargo jet ran off the runway at Miami International Airport were all inside a van used to get to planes to clean them, authorities said.
The jet crashed as it tried to land Sunday afternoon, overrunning its runway. It slammed into the van on airport property, through a fence and then on to a local street where it destroyed an SUV.
Five other people were injured. The pilot and co-pilot have been released from the hospital, Miami-Dade County Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz said Tuesday. Two people remain in critical condition and a third is in stable condition.
Cordero-Stutz said the deceased ranged in age from 47 to 75.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash. One focus will be on the lack of a system to slow and stop speeding jets.
Miami is not one of the 120 airports in the U.S. with lightweight, crushable material at the end of runways that the Federal Aviation Administration says have saved around 500 lives.
Experts said even without a runway excursion system, Miami’s airport appears to be compliant with federal rules because it has a 1,000-foot safety buffer at the end of its runways.
NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said Monday her agency’s goal is to prevent tragedies, but runway excursions continue to happen.
“Our recommendations must be implemented or we’re going to be here again,” she said at a Monday news conference.
Funk reported from Omaha, Nebraska, and Collins reported from Columbia, South Carolina.