Breaking: Five Dead After Amazon Cargo Plane Crashes at Miami International Airport

Five people were killed Sunday when an Amazon cargo aircraft overran a runway at Miami International Airport and struck several vehicles.

Another five people were injured in the deadly crash, which forced airport operations to shut down for several hours, according to the Miami Herald. Three of the injured were listed in critical condition, Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz said.

The Federal Aviation Administration reported that the Boeing 767-300, arriving from San Juan, Puerto Rico, overran the runway at approximately 2 p.m., according to a post on X.

The aircraft continued beyond the airport grounds, crossed Northwest 67th Avenue and “struck multiple vehicles,” Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said, according to the Herald.

Emergency crews rushed toward the burning wreckage as the gravity of the disaster became clear. One firefighter could be heard warning his colleagues over the radio: “The plane is on fire. The plane is on fire. Put your game faces on guys.”

Firefighters also discovered that the plane’s left engine was still operating as they battled the flames. After the pilot was unable to shut it down, crews reportedly flooded the engine with water to stop it.

Investigators are expected to examine the aircraft’s landing gear closely as they work to determine what caused the plane to leave the runway.

Pablo Rojas, an aviation attorney with the Coral Gables law firm Podhurst Orseck, said the position and condition of the landing gear could provide an important early clue.

“You can see it stops in this parking lot area with the landing gear collapsed,” Rojas said. “The nose is kind of dipping down. We don’t know if that’s something that happened late in the accident sequence or early enough to have caused the accident sequence.”

“You can imagine the incident being caused by something else and then the landing gear collapsing, but certainly if there was an issue with the landing gear early in the accident sequence, that’s going to be the first clue for investigators,” he said.

Amazon confirmed that the aircraft was part of its air-cargo network and was operated by 21 Air.

“We can confirm that an Amazon Air plane operated by 21 Air experienced an incident while attempting to land at Miami International Airport today,” Amazon said, according to Fox News.

“This is a fast-moving situation and we’re still gathering details. We’re working closely with local authorities and officials to understand exactly what happened.”

“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,” Amazon said.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will conduct investigations into the crash as officials seek answers about the mechanical condition of the aircraft, the runway overrun and the deadly sequence of events that followed.