A FedEx cargo jet crashed on landing and burst into flames March 23 at Narita International Airport, killing the pilot and co-pilot, and closing the main runway.

Transport ministry and other investigators believe the accident may have been caused by strong northwesterly winds buffeting the MD-11 as it attempted to land at around 6:50 a.m.

Winds of up to 72 kph were blowing in the airport's vicinity at the time and a wind-shear alert had been issued.

The aircraft, Flight 80 from Guangzhou, China, had flammable liquid aboard, according to the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry. It took about two hours to extinguish the blaze.

The bodies of Capt. Kevin Kyle Mosley, 54, and co-pilot Anthony Stephen Pino, 49, both Americans, were pulled from the cockpit at around 8 a.m., Chiba police said.