The cargo jet en route from Miami that crashed into a bay east of Houston on Saturday began its day with a flight from Ontario International Airport, according to flight records associated with the downed airplane’s tail number.

The plane, which Atlas Air Worldwide said it operated on behalf of Amazon, also recently made takeoffs and landings at March Air Reserve Base near Riverside. Amazon, the online retail giant, has cargo centers at Ontario and March.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Lynn Lunsford confirmed that the Atlas Air Flight 3591 that crashed bears the tail number N1217A. Records on the flight-tracking website FlightAware.com show that the airplane left Ontario at 2:26 a.m. Pacific time and arrived at Miami International Aiport at 9:35 a.m. Eastern. The plane left Miami at 11:33 a.m. Eastern and was supposed to land at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston at 12:53 p.m. Central time.

Instead, the Boeing 767 nosedived into Trinity Bay about 12:45 p.m. with three people on board. No survivors had been found Saturday night.

Witnesses told emergency personnel that the twin-engine plane “went in nose first” into the bay off Texas, leaving a debris field three-quarters of a mile long in Trinity Bay, Chambers County Sheriff Brian Hawthorne said.

“It’s probably a crash that nobody would survive,” he said, referring to the scene as “total devastation.”

Witnesses said they heard the plane’s engines surging and that the craft turned sharply before falling into a nosedive, Hawthorne said.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the cause of the crash.

Ontario International Airport Deputy Executive Director Atif Elkadi, in an interview this month with CNBC, said Amazon Prime has about eight flights a day at the airport.

CNBC said some of the Amazon aircraft at Ontario carry the logos of the airlines Amazon leases the planes from, including Atlas Air. Ontario recently edged past the Atlanta market to become the U.S. airport with the most outbound cargo, with 4.63 percent of the nation’s volume.

Amazon spokeswoman Rena Lunak confirmed Saturday that Amazon operates “air gateways” at Ontario and March that include package-processing facilities. In August, the March Joint Powers Commission voted to approve up to five Amazon flights per day.

The airplane that crashed had been at March four times since Feb. 10. On Friday, the most recent date, the plane arrived at March from Chicago and flew to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu that same day.

The plane then flew from Honolulu to Ontario on Friday night before its departure to Miami early Saturday, flight records show. The plane had also been at Ontario on Feb. 9-10.

Both Amazon and Atlas Air released written statements Saturday.

Said Dave Clark, Amazon’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Operations: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the flight crew, their families and friends along with the entire team at Atlas Air during this terrible tragedy. We appreciate the first responders who worked urgently to provide support.”

Wrote Atlas Air: “We can confirm there were three people on board the aircraft. Those people and their family members are our top priority at this time. Atlas Air is cooperating fully with the FAA and NTSB.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.