The amazon cargo plane crash miami left at least five people dead and five injured after a Boeing 767-300 operated by 21 Air ran beyond the runway while landing at Miami International Airport on Sunday, Sept. 6. The Federal Aviation Administration said Flight 7598 overran the runway at about 2 p.m. local time after arriving from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The aircraft carried Amazon branding, but Amazon said the Amazon Air plane was operated by 21 Air. NBC News reported that Prime Air is an Amazon company and that 21 Air lists it as a customer. That distinction matters: Amazon identified the flight as part of its air network, while 21 Air was the operator named by the FAA.
Later reporting from the BBC, citing officials, put the toll at at least five dead and five injured. Three injured people were taken to a local trauma center and two others were hospitalized, the BBC reported. The reviewed reporting does not identify the victims.
What happened in the Amazon cargo plane crash in Miami?
The FAA said 21 Air Flight 7598, a Boeing 767-300 cargo aircraft, overran the runway after landing. The agency said it would investigate.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said the aircraft struck multiple vehicles and caught fire. According to the BBC, the plane came to rest tipped forward onto its nose. Responders found the aircraft engulfed in flames and producing heavy smoke, the department said.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue deployed more than 60 units, or about 200 firefighters, according to BBC reporting. Firefighters rescued a person trapped under a vehicle, shut down the aircraft engine and worked to contain a fuel leak. The reported events establish the sequence after the overrun, not its cause.
Airport operations were halted during the response
Miami International Airport closed all runways and taxiways as of 3 p.m. during the initial response, according to the Miami-Dade Aviation Department as reported by NPR. The FAA imposed a ground stop, initially through 3 p.m. and later extended to 4:30 p.m., NPR reported.
The aircraft was disabled at the airport's northwest end after leaving the diagonal runway, according to the aviation department. ABC News reported that air-traffic-control recordings indicated the aircraft ran off the runway's end and may have struck a vehicle on a perimeter road.
Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said the company was working with local authorities and officials to establish what happened. Amazon later said it was heartbroken by the deaths, the BBC reported.
Neither the FAA's initial statement nor the accounts reviewed here establish why the aircraft overran the runway. The FAA said it would investigate.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.
