[Hunted]

An Atlas Air cargo plane, a Boeing 767-300 operating for Amazon Prime under registration N1217A, tragically lost contact with air traffic control while en route from Miami, FL to Houston Intercontinental, TX. The flight, numbered 5Y-3591, was carrying three crew members and was approximately 30 nautical miles southeast of Houston Intercontinental Airport when communication ceased around 12:40 local time (18:40 UTC).

Despite attempts by Houston Approach to re-establish contact at 18:40 UTC and again at 18:47 UTC, there was no response from the aircraft. Air traffic controllers also asked other planes in the vicinity if they had visual contact with the missing aircraft, but all reported they had not seen it.

The aircraft's wreckage was later located near coordinates N29.7636 W94.7145, in the waters of Trinity Bay, about 1.5 nautical miles northwest of Anahuac's Bayside Community Hospital in Texas.

Local law enforcement confirmed the crash site's location in Trinity Bay near Anahuac, TX. Emergency rescue and recovery teams were dispatched to the site. The Sheriff described the crash scene as one of total devastation, expressing doubt that there were any survivors. Witnesses in the area reported seeing the aircraft plunge nose-first into the bay.

[William May]

Wonder if some boaters or fishermen are going to turn up with the video of this A/C going in? Must have made a lot of noise.

[RiversEdge]

lucky it was just a cargo plane.

[kellyhound]

the wreckage

[kellyhound]

atc

[durt]

Weather related??

[cryptkeeper88]

The left turn out into the bay is sort of suspicious preceding a steep dive. It's horrible to think of a pilot commiting murder/suicide but it wouldn't be the first time it has happened.

[Hunted]

Originally Posted by cryptkeeper88 ↗

The left turn out into the bay is sort of suspicious preceding a steep dive. It's horrible to think of a pilot commiting murder/suicide but it wouldn't be the first time it has happened.

Wind Shear.
Load Shift.
Uncommanded TR(s) (Thrust Reverser(s)) deployment.
Flaps Assymetry.
Runaway Trim for Horizontal Stabilizer.
Spoilers deployment.
AOA (Angle of Attack) vanes impacted, birds etc.
Primary structural failure.
And a few others.

Best to not speculate and wait until the ORANGE boxes, FDR; (Flight Data Recorder) and CVR; (Cockpit Voice Recorder) are deciphered. Hopefully they are located and are readable.

[cryptkeeper88]

Originally Posted by Hunted ↗

Wind Shear.
Load Shift.
Uncommanded TR(s) (Thrust Reverser(s)) deployment.
Flaps Assymetry.
Runaway Trim for Horizontal Stabilizer.
Spoilers deployment.
AOA (Angle of Attack) vanes impacted, birds etc.
Primary structural failure.
And a few others.

Best to not speculate and wait until the ORANGE boxes, FDR; (Flight Data Recorder) and CVR; (Cockpit Voice Recorder) are deciphered. Hopefully they are located and are readable.

A load shift isn't possible. Prime Air only carries parcels. The aircraft would reach it's bulk limit way before a weight limit. Load documents obtained by the NTSB confirm this.

Windshear or a microburst at that altitude also wouldn't be an issue. They would have to the most incompetent flight crew ever to lose control at that altitude. Windshear accidents happen on approach to landing or departure at low altitude.

Runaway trim could produce such a crash profile but again they would have to be incompetent to not to be able to arrest the dice at that altitude.

Uncommanded thrust reverse would have put the aircraft in a spin due to asymmetric thrust.

Structural failure is possible not but probable. The aircraft was only 17 years old. It also went through a p2f conversion two years ago and that always requires a heavy check of the airframe. A freighter has more durability than a passenger version.

[kellyhound]

The plane appeared for five seconds in video captured from the Chambers County jail, about a mile and a half away, showing the aircraft in a "steep, nose-down" descent, Sumwalt said, adding that there was no distress call from the plane and it had no declared hazardous materials on board.