Portion of MIA runway is reopened while feds’ crash investigation continues

A portion of one runway at Miami International Airport has reopened after an Amazon cargo plane crashed Sunday, killing five people and closing two runways, according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s chairwoman.

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“We worked diligently throughout the day to try to turn some of that back over,” Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said of the runway closures during a Tuesday news conference.

On Tuesday evening, the NTSB wrapped up some of its documentation and turned over Runway 8R at Taxiway M2 for departures in the easterly direction, Homendy said. It has been a “big concern” for Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava because MIA is capacity-constrained, meaning the airport has reached or exceeded its physical limits.

It’s unclear when exactly both runways will be fully reopened, but the NTSB will be investigating the crash site for around a week, Homendy said. Investigators are documenting the scene and looking for “perishable evidence,” which goes away once runways are cleared and the plane is moved.

The pilots of the Boeing 767-33A operated by 21 Air are scheduled to be interviewed Wednesday, she said. There were around two hours of good quality audio recovered from the cockpit, and the readout will be released to the public after the interviews.

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Flight data shows no indication that speed breaks or thrust reversers were deployed prior to the plane overrunning the runway and striking a van owned by a plane-cleaning contractor with seven people inside, according to an NTSB investigator. Rolando Aleman Leon, 55; Yoel Rodriguez Narajo, 53; Julio C. Pineda, 75; Carlos Acosta Fajardo, 53; and Javierk Reyes Quevedo, 47, were killed in the crash.

The takeoff weight of the plane was more than 252,000 pounds, and its cargo weighed around 32,000 pounds — “mostly contact lenses,” Homendy said.

Homendy said she has been made aware of reports about possible safety concerns at 21 Air. She “doesn’t know anything about those,” she said.

Additional details about the crash will be released as they become available, Homendy said. A preliminary investigation report will be released in the weeks after the crash site is cleared.

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