A tragic accident at Miami International Airport left five people dead and five others injured on Sunday afternoon after an Amazon branded cargo plane veered off the runway during its descent. The Boeing 767 300, operating as 21 Air Flight 7598, was arriving from San Juan, Puerto Rico, when it overran Runway 30 shortly before 2 p.m. Eastern Time. According to authorities, the aircraft plowed into several vehicles before finally coming to a halt in a field adjacent to the airfield.
Emergency crews arrived within seconds of the impact, with more than 60 Miami Dade Fire Rescue units descending on the scene to battle a complex blaze centered in the engine compartments. Firefighters faced the dual challenge of extinguishing the flames and managing an active fuel leak while performing high stakes rescues. Technical teams carried out difficult extrications for victims trapped in the crushed vehicles, while another specialized crew worked to free the pilot and co pilot who were pinned inside the cockpit. Three of the survivors remain in critical condition at a regional trauma center.
The chaos caused immediate disruptions across one of Florida’s busiest travel hubs, triggering a total ground stop that shuttered all runways and taxiways. While some operations partially resumed by late Sunday evening, aviation officials warned that delays would likely persist well into Monday morning. An Amazon spokesperson expressed heartbreak over the loss of life, offering deep sympathies to the families affected by what they described as a devastating incident.
Investigation efforts are now underway to determine exactly why the aircraft failed to stop on the runway. The National Transportation Safety Board has deployed a team to lead the probe alongside the Federal Aviation Administration. Boeing noted that while they manufactured the aircraft as a passenger jet back in 1994, it had since been converted by a third party for cargo service. Both Boeing and airline operators say they are cooperating fully with investigators as they piece together the final moments leading up to the crash.
