An Amazon Air cargo plane overshot the runway while attempting to land at Miami International Airport, killing five people and seriously injuring five more. The Boeing 767-300 cargo aircraft crashed just before 14:00 local time (19:00 GMT) after departing from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The flight also collided with several vehicles on the ground upon impact.
Amazon stated that the company is “working closely with local authorities and officials to understand exactly what happened” in the wake of the tragedy. The crash occurred over the Labor Day weekend, one of the busiest travel periods of the year, prompting the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to order all flights grounded as fire crews raced to the smoking crash site.
At a news conference on Sunday evening, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava confirmed the casualties, stating, “At least five people have lost their lives, and five others are injured.” She added that rescue crews arrived at the scene within “seconds” of the crash, emphasizing that the immediate focus is on supporting the families, the injured, and managing the ongoing emergency response.
Miami Fire Chief Raied Jadallah reported that three of the five injured individuals are in critical condition, and all were taken to local hospitals with injuries of unknown severity. Several of the victims were trapped inside or under vehicles on the ground, requiring specialized extrication efforts by fire and rescue crews to free them.
The Amazon flight was operated by 21 Air, a charter company based in North Carolina. Airport officials stated that the plane “overran Miami International Airport’s diagonal runway and is disabled at the northwest end of the airport.” Miami Dade Fire Rescue teams arrived to find the aircraft heavily engulfed in flames and thick smoke.
Officials have stressed that it is too early to determine the cause of the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is leading the investigation and plans to hold a news conference on Monday to share preliminary findings.
