The crash of an Amazon cargo plane that resulted in the death of all three people on board is now being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the aircraft's manufacturers. The cargo plane that crashed just outside of Houston was operated by Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings for Amazon's delivery service. The cause of the crash has yet to be determined.
The cargo airplane, tagged as Atlas Air Flight 3591, was carrying various items for Amazon customers including women's clothing, linens, and gadgets. The Boeing 767-300 flew from Miami and was on its way to the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. According to reports, the plane suddenly nose-dived into a marshy area within Trinity Bay near Houston City. A statement released by Atlas Air confirmed that all of the three workers on board the plane had been instantly killed.
Authorities who immediately responded to the crash confirmed that they had found the remains of two people with the crash site. One of the victims was Captain Sean Archuleta, a pilot with the Mesa Air Group who was reportedly on a jump seat on the aircraft when it crashed. The NTSB has already dispatched specialists to comb the crash site to search for the plane's black box. According to the NTSB, the recovery of the black box will be critical to the investigation and in finding out the cause of the crash. Unfortunately, the thick mud in the crash site is reportedly making it hard for the operatives to find the plane's black box.
During the course of the planned investigation, the different agencies will be going through the employment and training records of all of the people that were on board the plane. They will also be looking at the records for all the people that worked maintenance on the aircraft prior to its departure. Boeing and General Electric, which manufactured the plane's engines, will be joining the investigation. Amazon has reportedly been barred from joining or interfering with the investigation.
Amazon currently contracts several cargo airlines as part of its Amazon-branded air delivery fleet called Amazon Air. Atlas Air is one of its biggest partners along with Air Transport Services. Atlas Air operates 20 Amazon-branded aircraft for the retail giant's air freight service, which was previously known as Prime Air.
Amazon's senior vice president of worldwide operations, Dave Clark, released a statement following the news of the crash and expressed his condolences to the family and friends of those who died. Clark also thanked everyone who responded to the incident and to those who continued to give their support during the tragedy.
