NEW YORK, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- A Boeing 767 cargo jetliner with three people on board crashed into a bay near Houston's George Bush International Airport on Saturday, said the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

It is unlikely that anybody could have survived, said Brian Hawthorne, sheriff of the Chambers County of the U.S. state of Texas.

Hawthorne told local newspaper Houston Chronicle that police have found human remains at the site of the crash and investigators have recovered parts of the plane, the largest at 50 feet (around 15 meters) long.

The twin-engine plane, operated by Atlas Air, was flying from Miami to Houston when it crashed shortly before 12:45 p.m. local time (1845 GMT), said the FAA, adding that radar and radio contact was lost with the aircraft at around 30 miles (48 km) southeast of the airport.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board will be in charge of the investigation, it said.

Meanwhile, Atlas Air said the flight was being operated for Amazon.

"Our main priority at this time is caring for those affected and we will ensure we do all we can to support them now and in the days and weeks to come," Atlas Air said in a statement.