An Amazon Prime Air cargo plane crashed at Miami International Airport on Sunday after overshooting the runway. The incident sent thick black smoke into the sky and led to a full closure of all runways at the airport. The Boeing 767-300 was operating as 21 Air Flight 7598 for Amazon and overran Runway 30 at about 2 p.m. local time, according to the Federal Aviation Administration and local officials.
Videos from the scene showed flames engulfing the aircraft and emergency crews rushing to the site, according to Business Insider. The plane had come from San Juan, Puerto Rico, before the crash occurred, according to a report from Fortune.
According to social media images, the aircraft came to rest on its belly near two semi-trucks that were parked nearby. Despite the fire, the fuselage appeared largely intact in early images, although the aircraft had visible damage and scorch marks. The aircraft crossed a roadway after leaving the runway and struck several vehicles before coming to rest.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded quickly to the crash site and reported that more than sixty units were deployed. Emergency personnel arrived to find the aircraft on fire, with multiple vehicles struck by the crash. Roughly 200 emergency personnel ultimately responded, and firefighters used foam to extinguish an engine-compartment fire while crews dealt with a fuel leak. Fire officials said the pilot and copilot were trapped in the cockpit and that other people were trapped in vehicles struck by the aircraft.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it was collecting information about the crash. The FAA also said it would investigate, while the NTSB began its investigation into the accident. Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said the company was working closely with local authorities and that its priority was the safety and care of everyone involved.
At least five people were killed and five others were injured in the crash, Miami-Dade County officials said. Three of the injured were in critical condition, while two others were hospitalized with less severe injuries. Officials had not immediately determined whether the people who died had been aboard the aircraft or were in vehicles on the ground.
All runways and taxiways were initially shut down as a result, with a ground stop issued by the FAA. During a ground stop, aircraft scheduled to fly to the affected airport are generally held at their departure airports; in this case, the simultaneous closure of Miami International Airport's runways also halted operations at the airport. The Federal Aviation Administration indicated that delays were expected once the airport reopened.
By Sunday evening, two of the airport's four runways had reopened, although significant delays and cancellations continued. The ground stop lasted roughly three hours, and hundreds of flights were delayed or canceled during the disruption.
Recordings from emergency responders indicated that crews were being directed toward the aircraft and damaged vehicles as they worked to reach people trapped at the scene. Officials later said the pilot and copilot had been trapped in the cockpit; both were among the people taken to hospitals.
Authorities had not publicly identified the dead or said whether they were aboard the aircraft or in vehicles on the ground. No cause for the runway overrun had been determined, and the FAA and NTSB were investigating the circumstances surrounding the landing. The situation was still developing, with updates expected as more information became available.