MIAMI, FL — A cargo plane operated for Amazon crashed Sunday at Miami International Airport, killing five people and sending multiple others to nearby hospitals. Local officials described a chaotic scene as emergency crews converged on the airfield and worked to control a fuel leak from the aircraft.
Authorities said the Boeing 767 overran a runway at about 1:58 p.m. and came to rest in a field next to the airport. Video posted on social media showed the Prime Air plane with its tail beyond the fence and thick black smoke rising from the wreckage.
Runway overrun leaves aircraft disabled at the airport's edge
Miami-Dade County Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz said the plane left the runway and stopped at the edge of the airport property. The Miami-Dade Aviation Department said the aircraft was disabled at the northwest end of the airport after overrunning the diagonal runway.
The plane was operating as Flight 7598, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, which said it had departed from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said the aircraft was being flown by contract cargo carrier 21 Air at the time of the crash.
The company said it was still gathering details and was working with local authorities to understand what happened. Amazon said its first priority was the safety, well-being and care of everyone involved.
Fire rescue crews confront smoke and a fuel leak
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said more than 60 units responded to the crash. Chief Ray Jadallah said during a briefing that crews were dealing with a fuel leak from the aircraft and were working to reduce the risk at the scene.
Officials did not immediately give a full account of the conditions of the victims, but local authorities said multiple injured people were taken to area hospitals. The combination of fire response, wreckage and leaked fuel made the emergency one of the most complex airport incidents in the area Sunday afternoon.
The black smoke seen in social media video underscored the scale of the emergency as responders worked around the disabled aircraft. Authorities have not said how the plane ended up off the runway.
Miami airport shuts down runways and taxiways after crash
The Miami-Dade Aviation Department said all runways and taxiways at Miami International Airport were closed as of 3:00 p.m. Sunday. The shutdown came after the aircraft came to rest near the northwest end of the airport and emergency crews secured the area.
The FAA also issued a ground stop for flights until 3 p.m., then extended it until 5:30 p.m. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the pause was intended to give first responders time to assess the scene and warned travelers to expect significant delays and potential cancellations.
For passengers, the immediate effect was a stranded and disrupted airport system as responders kept the crash zone isolated. Airport officials did not provide a timetable for when operations would resume.
FAA begins investigation into Amazon flight 7598
The Federal Aviation Administration said it will investigate the crash. That inquiry is expected to focus on what caused the Boeing 767 to overrun the runway and how the aircraft ended up disabled outside the airfield boundary.
The plane had taken off from Puerto Rico before arriving in Miami, but officials have not publicly identified the sequence of events leading up to the crash. For now, the agencies involved are focusing on emergency response, recovery and preserving the scene for investigators.
As of Sunday night, officials were still gathering facts and had not released additional details about the victims or the condition of those taken to hospitals. NPR said the breaking story would be updated as more information became available.
Amazon says safety remains its immediate priority
Amazon said it is coordinating with local authorities and officials to learn exactly what happened. Nantel said the company was focused on the safety and care of everyone involved while details were still being assembled.
The crash drew attention because it involved an Amazon-branded Prime Air cargo flight operating through a major U.S. airport and a contract carrier. With runways closed, emergency personnel on site and a federal probe ahead, the aftermath was expected to continue affecting airport operations and the people involved for hours after the impact.
Officials said the scene remained active as crews worked through the response and investigation began to take shape.
