World News
Five dead as a Boeing 767 freighter overruns the runway at Miami and hits vehicles on the road
By Staff Writer | 7 September 2026
The aircraft, operated for Amazon by a contract carrier, ran off the end of a runway of more than 9,000 feet, crossed a road and caught fire. The safety board has sent a team, and the airport spent Sunday evening on a ground delay that runs into today.
At least five people are dead and five injured after a Boeing 767-300 freighter overran the runway while landing at Miami International Airport on Sunday afternoon, crossed a road on the airport's boundary and struck several vehicles before catching fire. The Federal Aviation Administration said the aircraft, Prime Air Flight 7598, overran the runway at about 2 pm local time after departing from Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The flight was operated by 21 Air, a cargo carrier that flies for Amazon Air.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said the aircraft struck several vehicles near the 2100 block of Northwest 42nd Avenue and that its crews arrived to find it on fire with heavy flames and smoke showing. More than 60 of its units attended. The aircraft came to rest on the north-west side of the airfield, and the fire service reported a fuel leak from the airframe that it was working to contain. Residents and drivers were asked to keep away from the area around 67th Avenue and 25th Street. The county sheriff's office said on Sunday evening that there was no apparent threat to public safety and that the scene remained active.
We can confirm that an Amazon Air plane operated by 21 Air experienced an incident while attempting to land at Miami International Airport today. This is a fast-moving situation and we're still gathering details.
Kelly Nantel, Amazon spokesperson
What is known about the aircraft and the runway
The aircraft landed on runway 30, which is more than 9,000 feet long according to the aviation administration's own data. It is a 32-year-old airframe that was built as a passenger aircraft, flew for several airlines for more than two decades and was converted to carry freight in 2015, according to flight-tracking data. Nothing has been said officially about why it could not stop. One host that reviewed the air traffic control recording reported that the crew had not declared an emergency before landing. Inspection crews later found no aircraft parts or debris on the runway itself, but the aircraft damaged navigational equipment when it left the paved surface.
The federal accident investigator, the NTSB, said it was gathering information and has launched a go team. The Federal Aviation Administration is also investigating. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the administration was sending investigators.
Right now, our absolute priority is the safety, well-being, and care of everyone involved. We're doing everything we can to support those affected.
Kelly Nantel, Amazon spokesperson
The airport on a holiday weekend
The aviation administration's command centre issued a full ground stop at about 2:30 pm, which reached domestic flights to and from most of the United States on the Sunday of a public holiday weekend. All runways and taxiways were closed at first. Two of the airport's four runways had reopened by the evening, according to Greg Chin, communications director of the Miami-Dade Aviation Department. The ground stop was lifted at about 5 pm, and a ground delay remained in place into Monday because the disabled aircraft was still on the runway. Flight-tracking services counted about 250 delayed flights by late afternoon, and the administration warned that arrivals and departures would resume at a reduced rate.
21 Air is a cargo carrier that operates Boeing 767 aircraft for customers including Amazon and DHL. One host gives its base as North Carolina and another gives it an operations centre in Miami; both may be true, and neither host carries a statement from the carrier itself. The names of the dead had not been released.
A runway overrun on landing is one of the most studied events in air transport, and the first questions an investigation asks are familiar: the approach speed and touchdown point, the condition of the runway surface, the state of the brakes, thrust reversers and spoilers, and what the crew knew and when. None of them has an answer yet. What can be said is that a runway of more than 9,000 feet is long by any standard, and that an aircraft which used all of it and the road beyond will have a story to tell the investigators.