The three crew members and two passengers on board successfully evacuated after an emergency landing at Stewart International Airport in Newburgh, New York.

Also on board were two FedEx employees (including Vietnam veteran and Eastern Air Lines pilot Frederick S. Olmsted Jr.) sitting in jumpseats.

[2] The captain then de-pressurized the aircraft and all occupants then exited safely; the flight crew through a cockpit window and the passengers through one of the forward fuselage cabin doors.

Because the fire damage was extensive, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation was unable to find a source of ignition.

On 22 July 1998, the NTSB released its report, concluding, "the probable cause of this accident was an in-flight cargo fire of undetermined origin".