At least 5 dead after Amazon cargo plane overruns runway at Miami airport | VIDEO

Miami: A tragic accident occurred at Miami International Airport on Sunday when an Amazon cargo plane overran a runway, resulting in at least five deaths and five injuries as the aircraft collided with several vehicles and burst into flames, local authorities reported.

The incident took place around 2 pm following the aircraft's arrival from San Juan, Puerto Rico. After failing to stop, the plane plowed across a perimeter road utilized by local warehouse workers and surrounding businesses. Miami-Dade County officials confirmed during a press conference that five individuals died, three suffered critical injuries, and two others were hospitalized with less severe conditions.
 

Authorities noted on Sunday afternoon that it was still too early to confirm whether the deceased were crew members aboard the plane or occupants of the vehicles struck on the ground.

The crash sent dense black smoke into the air and trapped both the pilot and co-pilot inside the cockpit, as well as occupants within the impacted vehicles, according to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Ray Jadallah. Emergency crews also worked to extricate a person pinned beneath one of the damaged vehicles.

The incident led to the temporary suspension of flights at the hub for much of the afternoon. Approximately 200 emergency personnel responded to the scene, encountering intense flames and heavy smoke stemming from a complex engine compartment fire. Firefighters deployed specialized foam units from airport crash trucks to extinguish the blaze, while emergency teams continued to manage a fuel leak hours later.

Images from the site showed the Prime Air aircraft resting on its belly beside a roadway near two semi-trucks. Despite extensive fire damage, the fuselage remained mostly intact.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation, and authorities have not yet determined if local weather was a contributing factor. The National Weather Service recorded scattered thunderstorms and wind gusts reaching up to 30 mph (48 kph) in the area around the time of the event.

The flight was operated by North Carolina-based cargo carrier 21 Air. According to data from Flightradar24, the 32-year-old Boeing 767 was originally manufactured as a passenger aircraft and served multiple airlines for over two decades before undergoing conversion into a freighter in 2015.

The disruption heavily impacted airport operations, with tracking site FlightAware recording over 160 canceled flights and nearly 325 delays by late Sunday evening. Officials at Orlando International Airport, located over 200 miles (320 km) to the north, reported receiving diverted traffic from Miami.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced it is dispatching an investigative team led by Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy to examine the crash site.

Amazon issued a statement expressing full cooperation with investigating authorities. “We’re heartbroken to learn that five people lost their lives in today’s incident at Miami International Airport," the company said. “Our deepest sympathies go out to the families, loved ones, and all those affected by this devastating loss,” it said.

The tragedy follows another major cargo aviation incident last year, in which a UPS aircraft crashed after suffering an engine loss during takeoff roll at Louisville’s Muhammad Ali International Airport, claiming the lives of three crew members and 12 people on the ground, while injuring 23 others.

Aviation safety expert Steve Arroyo noted that a Boeing 767 freighter on a domestic route typically operates with a standard two-person crew consisting of a pilot and co-pilot, with additional pilots required only for longer international legs.

Arroyo, a retired United Airlines pilot, raised questions regarding the aircraft's touchdown point, emphasising that landings are typically expected within the first 3,000 feet (914 meters) of the runway.

“Did the aircraft land within the required touchdown zone?" he asked. “If it did, what happened,” he asked.

Mary Schiavo, a pilot and former Inspector General of the US Department of Transportation, observed that online footage shows the aircraft floating above the runway without making initial main-gear contact.

“It didn’t touch down right away, and so it lost a lot of critical real estate by just continuing to float over the runway. It was literally still flying,” Schiavo said.

She also pointed out that Miami International Airport lacks Engineered Material Arresting Systems (EMAS), crushable concrete beds installed at over 120 US airports designed to safely decelerate aircraft that overshoot runways, which the FAA credits with saving nearly 500 lives.

AP