At least 5 dead after Amazon cargo plane overran runway at Miami airport

At least five people were killed Sunday after an Amazon cargo aircraft overran a runway at Miami International Airport and struck multiple vehicles, according to officials. The crash set off a major emergency response, closed the airport’s runways and raised immediate questions about how the Boeing 767-300 came to leave the landing area and hit cars near the airport.

The Federal Aviation Administration said 21 Air Flight 7598 overran the runway after landing at Miami International Airport around 2 p.m. local time on Sept. 6. The agency said the cargo plane had departed from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and that it would investigate the incident. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said more than 60 units responded to the scene.

Authorities said the aircraft was operating as a Prime Air flight and struck several vehicles after leaving the runway area. Officials did not immediately release the names of the victims or say whether all of the dead were on the ground or on board the plane. The condition of the pilot and copilot was not immediately clear in the first official accounts.

Emergency crews reported heavy smoke and fire at the scene. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said responders found the aircraft burning after the impact and worked to extinguish the flames while assessing injuries. The airport later reported a ground stop and halted operations on its runways as crews secured the area.

Investigation begins as airport operations are disrupted

The Boeing 767-300 involved was 32 years old, according to airline-tracking information cited in initial coverage, and the FAA said it was a cargo aircraft. The runway overrun adds to a long history of safety concerns involving runway excursions, a category of accident in which aircraft leave the paved landing surface and may collide with obstacles beyond it.

The FAA said its statement was preliminary and subject to change. Investigators were expected to examine the aircraft, runway conditions, flight data and crew actions as officials worked to determine what caused the jet to overrun the runway and travel into the vehicle area near the airport.