A Boeing 767 cargo jetliner with 3 people on board crashed into a bay near Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport on Saturday (Feb 23), the Federal Aviation Administration said.
Atlas Air Flight 3591 was en route to Houston from Miami when radar and radio contact with the plane was lost about 48km south-east of the airport, the agency said in a statement.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will be in charge of the investigation, the statement said, and FAA investigators were on their way to the crash site.
The Chambers County Sheriff's office said it was responding to the crash and that the plane had been located in Jack's Pocket, at the north end of Trinity Bay near the city of Anahuac, according to a Facebook post by the sheriff's office.
Ed Gonzalez, the sheriff of neighboring Harris County, which includes Houston, said on Twitter that his office was sending personnel to help with the rescue efforts.
Boeing said on Twitter that it was aware of reports of an accident involving a 767 in Texas and was gathering more information.
Atlas Air did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Image of the 767 plane crash in Chambers County, east of Houston. https://t.co/dQIO0yoHsj pic.twitter.com/16afzHBcrT
— KHOU 11 News Houston (@KHOU) February 23, 2019
“The first thing I saw was floating debris. Everything from bed sheets, to women’s clothing.” It looks like total devastation on the part of the aircraft. Says they will probably end out here for weeks. @KHOU #KHOU11 pic.twitter.com/5MQY5afcY7
— Janelle Bludau (@JanelleKHOU) February 23, 2019
Witnesses described seeing the plane nose dive and a big plume of water. The debris encompasses about a quarter of a mile span. First responders are not removing any of the debris. They are only setting up buoys to contain the area for NTSB to collect the items. @KHOU pic.twitter.com/Isn27njWvH
— Janelle Bludau (@JanelleKHOU) February 23, 2019