ANAHUAC, TX — A Boeing 767 cargo jetliner carrying three people nose dived into the Trinity Bay near Anahuac Saturday afternoon, officials said. The cargo jet crashed into the bay just before 12:45 p.m. on Saturday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Officials said there are not signs of survivors at this time. The plane was located in Jack’s Pocket at the north end of the bay. Chambers County Sheriff Brian Hawthorne said at a press conference that some human remains have been found.
Speaking from the scene earlier in the day, Hawthorne said the first thing that he saw at the crash scene was floating debris, including everything from women’s clothing, bedsheets, cardboard boxes and fiberglass. Hawthorne’s press conferences were broadcast live on Facebook by 12NewsNow.
The size of the debris field is about three quarters of a mile, according to Hawthorne.
“Knowing what I saw, I don’t believe anybody could survive it,” Hawthorne said.
The environmental impact is extremely minimal as very little fuel, if any, spilled on the water, Hawthorne said. The black boxes have not been found but Hawthorne said officials do expect that the boxes should be able to be recovered.
Hawthorne said he wasn’t sure what the exact cargo on the plane was. The largest chunk of the plane Hawthorne said he saw was not much larger than 50 feet, but added that no one knew what was under water.
The pilot appeared to be having some kind of problem with the plane, Hawthorne said.
“The Federal Aviation Administration issued an Alert Notice (ALNOT) on Atlas Air Flight 3591 after losing radar and radio contact with the Boeing 767 approximately 30 miles southeast of Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport,” a Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman said in a statement. “The aircraft was flying from Miami to Houston.”
Anahuac is located roughly an hour east of Houston in Chambers County. Photos from local media stations showed rescue planes above the river. Live images from 12NewsNow showed scattered debris in the bay. The FBI is responding to the cargo plane crash.
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Information on the flight tracking website, FlightAware, shows that the plane departed Miami at 11:33 a.m. and was scheduled to land in Houston at 12:53 p.m. central time.
“We are deeply saddened to learn of the Atlas Air 767 freighter that crashed near Anahuac, TX, earlier today,” Boeing said in a statement. “We are concerned about the safety of the 3 people reported to be on board. Boeing is prepared to provide technical assistance to the NTSB as it investigates the accident.”
According to Atlas Air, the plane can carry a maximum revenue payload of 116,800 pounds. Atlas Air was founded in 1992 and information on the company website says its worldwide companies “operate the world’s largest fleet of Boeing 747 freighter aircraft and provide customers the broadest array of 747, 777, 767, 757 and 737 aircraft for domestic, regional, and international applications.”
“We can confirm there were three people on board the aircraft,” Atlas Air said in a statement. “Those people and their family members are our top priority at this time. Atlas Air is cooperating fully with the FAA and NTSB.”
Captain Daniel C. Wells, Atlas Air captain and president of the Airline Professionals Association, Teamsters Local 1224, released the following statement:
“Our union stands together as a family and in support of our members’ families. Our focus is on our friends and colleagues who were on that plane, and we are doing everything we can to support their families.”
“Teamsters Local 1224 representatives are already on the ground supporting this investigation. We also thank the first responders who rushed to the scene to help.”
A photo of the plane taken before takeoff showed that the plane was branded “Prime Air,” meaning that it belonged to Amazon. The company announced deals with two companies in 2016 — Atlas Air and Air Transport Services Group — to lease 40 planes that would fly for Amazon.
“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, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Operations at Amazon, said in a statement. “We appreciate the first responders who worked urgently to provide support.”
Less than a year ago, a cargo plane crashed near Savannah, Georgia, killing nine people. The plane crash in May 2018 left nine Puerto Rican Air National Guard members dead.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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