Victims Of Fatal FL Amazon Plane Crash Identified

MIAMI, FL — The Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office identified the five people killed in Sunday’s Amazon cargo plane crash at Miami International Airport during a news conference on Tuesday. (Watch the full news conference below.)

The plane, 21 Air Flight 7598 from San Juan, Puerto Rico, overran the runway at MIA around 2 p.m., hitting multiple vehicles near the 2100 block of Northwest 42nd Avenue, officials said.

The aircraft slammed into a van at the airport, continued through a fence and then crashed into an SUV on a city street.

All five people killed were inside the van, which was used to shuttle crews that clean planes, authorities said.

They were Rolando Aleman Leon, 55; Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo, 53; Julio C. Pineda, 75; Carlos Acosta Fajardo, 53; and Javierkys Reyes Quevedo, 47, Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz said during the news conference.

The van is owned by Professional Ocean Service Corp., a company contracted to clean planes at the airport. The company said it wouldn’t comment on the crash out of respect for the families of those who lost their lives.

“Our employees are far more than the people who work beside us each day, they are family, and they are deeply loved. Our hearts and prayers are with every employee and every family whose lives have been forever changed,” the company said in a statement Tuesday.

Two other employees in the van at the time of the crash survived, NBC Miami reported. A person driving the SUV also survived.

Five other people were injured in the crash including the pilot and co-pilot, who have been released from the hospital, Cordero-Stutz said.

Two people remained in critical condition as of Tuesday, while a third was hospitalized in stable condition, she said.

The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation into the plane and the crash.

One focus of the investigation will be on the lack of a system to slow and stop speeding jets at the end of runways.

Miami is not one of the 120 airports in the U.S. with lightweight, crushable material that the Federal Aviation Administration says has saved around 500 lives.

Even without a runway excursion system, Miami’s airport appears to be compliant with federal rules because it has a 1,000-foot (305-meter) safety buffer at the end of its runways, experts said.

NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said her agency’s goal is to prevent tragedies, but runway excursions continue to happen even after the board has suggested installing the systems in the past.

“Our recommendations must be implemented or we’re going to be here again,” she said at a Monday news conference.

During the investigation, Northwest 67th Avenue remains closed from Northwest 32nd Street to Northwest 25th Street, the sheriff said.

This article includes reporting by The Associated Press.

Watch the full news conference:

See Also:

• FL Family Missing After Small Plane Disappears After Leaving Bahamas
• 'Utter Destruction': NTSB Chair Describes Wake Of Amazon Flight Crash That Left 5 Dead, 5 Hurt In Miami
• Pilot Dies In Small Plane Crash Near Space Coast Regional Airport: FD
• 5 Dead, 5 Injured After Amazon Flight Crashes In FL: Authorities