An Amazon Prime Air cargo plane overran a runway at Miami International Airport Sunday afternoon, killing at least five people and injuring five others after the aircraft struck multiple vehicles and caught fire, authorities said.
Prime Air Flight 7598, arriving from San Juan, Puerto Rico, overran the airport’s diagonal runway shortly before 2 p.m. and plowed across a road used by warehouse workers and nearby businesses, striking several vehicles in the process. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Ray Jadallah said three of the five injured were in critical condition, with two others hospitalized with less serious injuries. Officials declined to identify those who died, and it was not immediately clear whether the pilots survived or whether all of the deceased had been in vehicles struck by the plane.
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava confirmed the toll and described the incident as an incredibly difficult day for the community, warning residents to stay away from what she called a still active scene.
What We Know So Far
The crash trapped the pilot and co-pilot inside the cockpit and left at least two people trapped in vehicles struck by the aircraft, according to Jadallah. Crews also had to extricate one person trapped underneath a vehicle. More than 60 rescue units and roughly 200 emergency personnel responded to the scene, which produced thick black smoke visible for miles as firefighters worked to control an intense engine compartment fire using specialized airport firefighting foam. Crews were still managing an active fuel leak from the aircraft hours after the crash.
Accounts differed somewhat on the plane’s final resting position. One report described the aircraft as resting on its belly and remaining largely intact despite the fire, while another described its nose on the ground with its tail tilted upward. Photos showed visible scorch marks and damage concentrated on the right side of the aircraft, including what appeared to be a mangled and burned right wing.
Flightradar24 data showed the plane was traveling at 112 knots, or about 129 mph, when it exited the usable runway surface. Thunderstorms and wind gusts up to 30 mph were recorded in the area at the time of the crash, according to the National Weather Service, though it remained unclear whether weather played any role in the accident. The cause had not been determined as of the latest reporting.
The aircraft was a 32-year-old Boeing 767-300 freighter that originally operated as a passenger jet for various airlines from 1994 until its conversion to a cargo aircraft in 2015, according to flight tracking service Flightradar24. The plane was operated by 21 Air, a North Carolina based cargo carrier, on behalf of Amazon. Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said the company was still gathering details about what happened. “We’re working closely with local authorities and officials to understand exactly what happened,” Nantel said, adding that the safety and care of everyone involved remained the company’s top priority.
21 Air said on its website that it was devastated by the crash and extended condolences to the families of those killed. Both Boeing and 21 Air said they would support government investigations into the accident.
Miami International Airport closed all runways and taxiways and implemented a ground stop shortly after the crash, halting all arrivals and departures for much of the afternoon. By Sunday evening, two of the airport’s four runways had reopened. More than 160 flights were canceled and nearly 325 delayed by late Sunday, according to flight tracking service FlightAware. Some flights were diverted to Orlando International Airport, more than 200 miles north of Miami.
What Authorities Are Saying
The National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending an investigative team to Miami led by Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy, with the board’s first media briefing on the crash scheduled for Monday in Miami. The Federal Aviation Administration is also set to open its own investigation into the circumstances of the crash.
Why This Matters
Sunday’s crash is not the first fatal accident involving a Prime Air affiliated aircraft. In February 2019, Atlas Air Flight 3591, a Boeing 767-300 freighter operating on behalf of Amazon Prime Air on a route from Miami to Houston, entered a rapid descent and crashed into Trinity Bay, Texas, killing all three people aboard. The recurrence of a fatal incident involving the same aircraft model and cargo network is likely to draw renewed scrutiny to safety practices among carriers operating older, converted freighter aircraft on behalf of major logistics companies like Amazon.
The age and conversion history of the aircraft, more than three decades old and originally built for passenger service before being repurposed as a freighter, may also become a focus of the NTSB’s investigation, given ongoing industry debate over the safety implications of operating aging airframes in cargo service long after their original passenger carrying lifespan.
The crash’s impact extended well beyond the airport itself, striking a public roadway used by surrounding warehouse and business employees, raising questions about the proximity of ground level commercial activity to active runway approach and departure paths at one of the country’s busiest airports.
What Happens Next
The NTSB’s investigative team is expected to begin detailed examination of the wreckage and flight data following Monday’s initial media briefing, a process that typically takes months to produce a final determination of cause. The FAA’s separate investigation is also getting underway.
Miami International Airport is expected to continue working through residual flight delays and cancellations in the days following the crash as normal operations resume across all runways. Amazon, 21 Air and Boeing have all indicated they will cooperate with the ongoing government investigations, though none have yet offered a preliminary explanation for what caused the plane to overrun the runway.
Reporting drawn from the Associated Press, Reuters and The US Sun
