Removal of Miami Air Boeing 737 from St. Johns River has begun

Naval Air Station Jacksonville announced Tuesday morning that the Boeing 737 plane that skidded off the runway Friday night at NAS Jax and into the St. Johns River is in the process of being removed from the river.

Barges will be used to help remove the Miami Air airplane and are currently in place as Navy contract partners prepare the plane for removal, NAS Jax said.

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According to NAS Jax, once the plane is safely on one of the barges, it will be transported to a secure location.

Operations to remove fuel from the plane were completed last night, NAS Jax said.

While removal operations are underway, the airfield is closed to all incoming flights until the removal is complete.

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The plane skidded off runway 10 Friday around 9:40 p.m. at NAS Jax with 143 people and four pets on board.

All people on board were safely rescued with minor injuries; one pet was rescued Friday night, but three pets in the cargo hold did not survive.

The NTSB says the cockpit voice recorder was recovered from the plane, this will likely give investigators an idea of what happened the night the plane made its crash landing into the St. Johns river.

It took a few hours for the aircraft to be gently lifted from the water, and transferred onto a barge. It then began its trip down the St. Johns river, the 737 is being moved to an undisclosed location so the NTSB can continue its investigation. ​

A company out of Green Cove Springs is moving the 737 which weighs about 90,000 pounds, it says the plane should fit under the bridges during its transport.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the incident.

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