Federal investigators probe Amazon cargo jet's fiery runway crash that
killed 5 in Miami
[September 08, 2026]
By DAVID FISCHER, MARC LEVY and JEFFREY COLLINS
MIAMI (AP) — The five people killed when an Amazon cargo jet ran off a
runway at Miami International Airport were all inside a van carrying
seven people from a cleaning company, and an SUV hit outside of airport
property, National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer
Homendy said Monday.
Homendy called the scene of Sunday’s crash “utter devastation.” She
didn’t detail how many people were in the SUV or where the dead were
located.
Homendy walked the route the Boeing 767 followed, noting tire marks from
the pavement into the grass, the destroyed van carrying the cleaning
crew, torn fencing, navigational equipment, and the crushed SUV outside
airport property.
The debris included vehicle air bags, equipment from the vehicles, the
airplane and the airport, and “fencing everywhere,” Homendy said.
“It’s pretty extensive. Hard to see and I’m sure it must have been very
difficult for the responders as well,” Homendy said.
The airline, all told, traveled about 1,300 feet (396 meters) past the
paved surface. Debris was everywhere, she said.
“I would describe it in one word as devastating, utter devastation,”
Homendy said.
The van with seven people inside was “torn apart. It certainly must have
been devastating,” she said. The van was owned by Professional Ocean
Service Corp., an airline cleaning contractor.
Homendy said the NTSB would issue more information on Tuesday, including
possibly information on speed that is confirmed by the flight data
recorder.
Federal investigators examining cause of deadly overrun
Federal investigators examining the crash spent Monday determining
whether the plane touched down too late to stop safely.
Video of Sunday’s landing appears to show the Boeing 767 remaining
airborne well down the runway before touching down. Aviation experts
said investigators will seek to determine exactly where the plane
landed, whether it was beyond the normal touchdown zone, and why the
pilots did not abandon the landing.
Investigators will also examine the plane’s speed and braking, weather
and wind conditions, the aircraft’s mechanical condition and other
factors that could have contributed to the deadly overrun.
The aircraft on Sunday flew from Cincinnati to Miami and then to San
Juan, Puerto Rico. It was returning to Miami when it overran the runway
around 2 p.m. and plowed across a road used by warehouse workers and
other businesses that surround the airport.
Aside from the five who died, three people were critically injured and
two others were hospitalized with less severe injuries, officials said.
The crash, which sent thick black smoke billowing into the sky, trapped
the pilot and copilot in the cockpit and some occupants in cars, said
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Ray Jadallah. The agency said crews also
had to extricate a person who was trapped under a vehicle.
The typical landing zone for a plane is within the first 3,000 feet (914
meters) of a runway, experts said. If the cargo jet was beyond that
area, it should have aborted the landing and gone around for another
try, aviation safety expert Steve Arroyo said.
Mary Schiavo, who is a pilot and former Inspector General of the
Transportation Department, said video posted online shows the Amazon
plane floating above the runway for an extended period without flaring
the nose upward to force the main landing gear onto the ground.
It wasn’t raining at the time, but dark storm clouds loomed and strong
winds were reported. Schiavo said that if the plane had a tail wind,
that could have contributed to it floating further down the runway.
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An Amazon cargo plane sits at the Miami International Airport (MIA)
Monday, Sept. 7, 2026, after it overshot the runway on Sunday, in
Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
“A tail wind would certainly add to your troubles if you’ve already
given up a good chunk of the runway by not touching down and landing
right away,” Schiavo said.
Miami airport appears compliant without updated system
The Miami airport is not equipped with arresting systems that the
FAA says have been installed at more than 120 airports nationwide to
safely stop planes that do go past the end of a runway. Those beds
of lightweight, crushable material at the end of a runway have been
credited by the FAA with helping save at least 497 lives aboard
planes that overran runways.
Miami’s airport appears to be in compliance and wasn’t required to
have an arresting system because it has a 1,000-foot safety buffer
at the end of its runways, said Mike O’Donnell, the FAA’s former
director of airport safety and accident investigations.
The requirement was prompted by American Airlines Flight 1420
overrunning a runway at Little Rock National Airport in Arkansas in
1999, killing nine.
The Prime Air plane came to rest beside a roadway near two
semitrucks, images showed. The aircraft appeared to be resting on
its belly and was largely intact despite the fire.
The flight had been operated by 21 Air, a cargo carrier based in
North Carolina. The 32-year-old Boeing 767 was originally built to
carry passengers and flew for several airlines for more than two
decades before being converted to a cargo plane in 2015, according
to flight-tracking site Flightradar24.
Schiavo said the NTSB will also closely examine the maintenance
history of this plane — particularly since it has a history of
foreign ownership, including by a Russian company.
The crash halted flights at the busy travel hub for much of Sunday
afternoon and continued to hamper air travel into Monday.
Miami International Airport said that two of its four runways
remained closed Monday and that operations were to be affected
throughout the day because of aircraft and flight crews not arriving
there due to Sunday’s cancellations after the crash.
An airport spokesperson said there were 160 cancellations and more
than 300 delayed flights Sunday, plus another 69 canceled flights
Monday through mid-afternoon. Flight tracking sites were reporting
widespread delays at the airport.
Amazon said in a statement that it would cooperate with any
investigation.
“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.”
Last year, a UPS plane crashed after losing its engine while
accelerating down the runway at Louisville’s Muhammad Ali
International Airport. The crash killed all three pilots and 12
people on the ground. Twenty-three more were injured.
___
Levy reported from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Collins reported
from Columbia, South Carolina. Associated Press writer Josh Funk in
Omaha, Nebraska, contributed.
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