Federal Investigators Probe Amazon Cargo Jet's Fiery Miami Runway Crash

Federal investigators are probing why an Amazon cargo jet barreled off a runway at Miami International Airport on Sunday, killing at least five people.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has sent a team led by Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy to Miami, who is expected to give the agency's first briefing on Monday. Investigators will likely focus on whether the Boeing 767 touched down too late to stop safely, as video appears to show the plane remaining airborne well down the runway.

Aviation experts state the typical landing zone is within the first 3,000 feet (914 meters) of a runway, and a landing should be aborted if beyond that area. The aircraft overran the runway around 2 p.m. Sunday after arriving from San Juan, Puerto Rico, and plowed across a road used by warehouse workers and other businesses.

Five people died, three were critically injured, and two others were hospitalized with less severe injuries. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Ray Jadallah reported the crash trapped the pilot and copilot in the cockpit and some occupants in cars. Crews also extricated a person trapped under a vehicle. It was not immediately clear if the pilots were among those killed.

The plane was on fire and spewing heavy smoke when crews arrived, with firefighters using foam from specialized airport firefighting units to combat the flames. More than 60 Miami-Dade Fire Rescue units and about 200 personnel responded to the scene. The aircraft was operated by 21 Air, a North Carolina-based charter firm, as part of Amazon's Prime Air network.

The 32-year-old Boeing 767 was originally a passenger plane before being converted to cargo in 2015. Weather data indicates thunderstorms and gusting winds up to 30 mph (48 kph) were recorded in the area at the time. The crash caused flight disruptions, with over 160 flights canceled and nearly 325 delayed by late Sunday. This incident marks the second 767 cargo plane crash from Amazon's Prime Air network; an Atlas Air freighter crashed in 2019 near Houston, killing three people.