Amazon Cargo Jet Overruns Miami Runway, Killing Five

A Prime Air Boeing 767 overran a Miami International runway Sunday, striking vehicles and catching fire, leaving five dead and five injured.

At least five people died Sunday afternoon when an Amazon Prime Air cargo plane overran a runway during landing at Miami International Airport, striking multiple vehicles and catching fire in a thick plume of black smoke. Five others were injured, according to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Raied "Ray" Jadallah: three in critical condition taken to a trauma center, and two others taken to a local hospital. Several victims were trapped in the vehicles that were hit and had to be extricated, and responders said the pilots were also removed from the plane and treated. "Guys, the plane's on fire. Plane's on fire. Put your game faces on," one first responder said in Broadcastify audio.

The aircraft was traveling nearly 130 miles per hour when it left the usable portion of runway 30 — a runway more than 9,000 feet long — according to Flightradar24 data cited in CNN reporting. A review of air traffic control audio by CNN shows the pilots did not declare an emergency before the landing, and inspection crews reported no aircraft parts or debris on the runway, deepening the mystery of why the 32-year-old Boeing 767 could not stop. The Miami County Mayor said it was too soon to say whether the dead were on the plane or in the vehicles it struck, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, which also noted the aircraft came to rest largely intact on its belly beside a roadway near two semi-trucks despite the fire.

More than 60 Miami-Dade Fire Rescue units responded to find the airplane on fire with heavy flames and smoke showing, from what the department described as a complex engine compartment fire, and roughly 200 emergency personnel ultimately responded, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Firefighters used specialized airport firefighting foam to knock down the blaze but were still contending with a fuel leak hours later. The National Weather Service recorded thunderstorms and wind gusts up to 48 kilometres per hour in the area at the time, though officials had not determined whether weather played a role. Wreckage of multiple overturned vehicles was visible alongside the runway.

The crash halted operations at one of the United States' busiest airports for much of the afternoon. All runways and taxiways closed and a full ground stop took effect around 3 p.m.; a ground stop for arrivals was lifted around 5 p.m. ET, but the FAA warned delays would persist into Monday because the disabled aircraft remained on the runway. More than 160 flights were canceled and nearly 325 delayed by late Sunday, per FlightAware figures cited by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and some flights were diverted to Orlando, more than 320 kilometres north. The aircraft damaged navigational equipment when it left the pavement. Runway excursions are the number one incident type involving airplanes worldwide, according to International Air Transport Association data cited in the CNN report.

The National Transportation Safety Board is sending a team to Miami led by Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy to determine a probable cause, and the Federal Aviation Administration will investigate as well. CNN reports it has reached out to 21 Air for comment. Miami-Dade officials set up a family hotline at 305-471-2400 for anyone who believes a relative may have been involved in the tragedy.

Amazon Air operates a fleet of more than 100 cargo aircraft and runs more than 250 cargo flights daily, according to the CNN report carried by CTV News, making the crash a rare but high-consequence failure in a heavily trafficked air freight network. The 32-year-old Boeing 767 was built as a passenger plane, flew for several airlines over two decades, and was converted to cargo in 2015, according to Flightradar24 information cited by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Miami International, like many airports, has a designated safety area beyond the runway intended as a buffer for exactly this kind of excursion, yet the plane still reached vehicles and equipment beyond the pavement. The NTSB's findings on braking, weather, and aircraft condition will shape both the investigation and any operational changes at the airport.