HOUSTON – A Boeing 767 airliner heading for Houston with three people on board has disintegrated after crashing on Saturday in a bay in the east of the city, according to a Texas sheriff.

Witnesses told the rescue teams that the twin-engine aircraft had "stolen the nose first," leaving a three-quarters-mile debris field in Trinity Bay, said Chambers County Sheriff Brian Hawthorne .

"It's probably an accident that nobody would survive," he said, calling the scene "total devastation."

The cargo plane made a steep descent shortly before 12:45 pm. from 6,525 feet to 3,025 feet in 30 seconds, according to FlightAware.com's tracking data.

The flight was operated for Amazon by Atlas Air, according to a statement by the airline.

"Our top priority right now is taking care of those affected and we will do everything we can to support them now and in the days and weeks to come," Atlas Air said in a statement.

Dave Clark, Senior Vice President of Global Operations at Amazon, said, "Our thoughts and prayers are with the flight crew, their families and friends, as well as with the rest of the world. Atlas Air team during this terrible tragedy. We appreciate first responders who have worked urgently to provide support. "

Witnesses said they heard the aircraft engines making waves and that the craft had veered sharply before sinking into the nose, Hawthorne said.

Aerial footage shows rescuers walking along a sandy swamp tongue with debris that extends into the water.

Hawthorne told the Houston Chronicle late Saturday afternoon that police had found human remains at the scene of the accident.

The investigators also found parts of the plane, he said. "There is everything from cardboard boxes to clothes and bed sheets for women," Hawthorne said.

Hawthorne told the newspaper that the biggest piece of Boeing 767 found by the police was 50 feet long.

The sheriff said that recovery of the pieces of the plane and its black box containing the flight data would be difficult in a muddy bog that extends up to about 5 feet deep in the region . Inflatable boats are needed to access the area.

The plane had departed Miami and was probably just minutes from the landing at Houston George Bush intercontinental airport.

The Federal Aviation Administration has issued an alert following the loss of radar and radio contact of Atlas Air Flight 3591, located about 30 km southeast of the airport, the FAA spokesman said. Lynn Lunsford.

Air traffic controllers in Houston tried at least twice to contact the aircraft, but received no response.

After losing touch, they asked a United Airlines pilot for seeing a "land contact" – a wreck – on his right or behind him, according to recordings of the conversation. "It's negative," he said.

They also asked a Mesa Airlines pilot: "See if you can make ground contact. We are looking for a lost plane … it's a heavy Boeing 767 ", which means it's a big two-lane plane.

"No ground contact from here," said the pilot of Mesa.

The Coast Guard sent boats and at least one helicopter to help search for survivors. A dive team from the Texas Department of Public Safety will be tasked with finding the black box, Hawthorne said.

Trinity Bay is just north of Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.

FAA investigators are on the scene, as well as the National Transportation Safety Board authorities, who will conduct the investigation.

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