Boeing 767 cargo jet with three on board crashes near Houston airport

New York: Three people on board, a Boeing 767 cargo jetliner crashed into a bay near Houston’s George Bush International Airport , said the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in a statement.

Radar and radio contact was lost with Atlas Air Flight 3591 as it was flying from Miami to Houston around 30 miles (48 km) southeast of the airport, FAA said on Saturday.

Chambers County Sheriff, Brian Hawthorne said that eyewitnesses reported the plane crashed nose-first into the bay, The New York Times reported.

“I feel like it’s probably a crash that nobody would be capable of surviving,” said Hawthorne.

The plane was operating for Amazon Air, the online giant’s air cargo business, according to Flightradar24, an airline tracking site.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the flight crew, their families and friends along with the entire team at Atlas Air during this terrible tragedy,” Dave Clark, Amazon’s senior vice president of worldwide operations. “We appreciate the first responders who worked urgently to provide support.”

Atlas Air is one of the cargo airlines that Amazon contracted to operate the Amazon-branded fleet, along with Air Transport Services Group. Each operates 20 Amazon-branded planes for the air freight service, which was previously called Prime Air.

“FAA investigators are on their way to the accident site, and the National Transportation Safety Board has been notified. The NTSB will be in charge of the investigation’, said FAA spokesman Lynn Lunsford in a statement.

The NTSB said it was sending a “go team” to the crash site on Saturday evening from Washington DC.

Atlas Air confirmed that three people were on board the aircraft.

Boeing, which manufactured the plane, said it in a statement that it is deeply saddened to learn of the accident.

Boeing added that it would provide technical assistance to the NTSB’s investigation.

The Boeing 767 was powered by GE CF6-80C2 engines, one of General Electric’s most popular aircraft engines.

The company said in a statement that it was aware of the accident and it has a team in place to provide all the necessary support required. (UNI)