Federal investigators recovered the flight recorders Monday as two of Miami International Airport’s four runways remained closed and disruptions continued.
MIAMI, Fla. — Five people were killed and five others were injured Sunday when an Amazon cargo jet overran a runway while landing at Miami International Airport, struck two vehicles and caught fire, federal and local authorities said.
The National Transportation Safety Board said Monday that the five people who died were in the vehicles struck by the Boeing 767-300 after it traveled about 1,300 feet beyond the paved runway. Investigators recovered the aircraft’s flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder and were sending them to the agency’s laboratory in Washington for analysis. The NTSB had not determined why the plane failed to stop, and Chair Jennifer Homendy said a probable cause would not be established during the agency’s initial work at the scene.
21 Air Flight 7598 was operating for Amazon’s air cargo network and was returning from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Federal Aviation Administration said the jet overran the runway after landing at about 2 p.m. Sept. 6. The NTSB placed the crash at about 1:53 p.m. The aircraft continued beyond the runway, crossed grassy areas and struck airport equipment before hitting a van on airport property, breaking through perimeter fencing and colliding with an SUV traveling on Northwest 67th Avenue.
The van was carrying seven people who worked for Professional Ocean Service Corp., a company that provides cleaning services to airlines, according to the NTSB. Investigators said the five fatalities came from the occupants of the two vehicles, but officials had not released a detailed accounting of where each person who died was located. Authorities also had not publicly identified the dead by Monday. Five people were injured in the crash, including three who were reported in critical condition and two with less severe injuries.
The jet’s pilot and co-pilot survived. Emergency responders initially reported that the crew members were trapped in the cockpit after the crash, while other people required rescue from the vehicles. More than 60 Miami-Dade Fire Rescue units and about 200 personnel responded as crews fought the aircraft fire, treated victims and dealt with leaking jet fuel. The scale of the response forced airport officials to stop flight operations while firefighters, police officers and other emergency workers secured the area.
Homendy said Monday that the NTSB had deployed 32 investigators and specialists to Miami. The agency’s work will cover the crew’s actions, aircraft systems and engines, air traffic control, aircraft performance, weather, airport conditions and survival factors. Investigators had not yet interviewed the pilot or co-pilot as of Monday afternoon. The NTSB said its immediate goal was to preserve evidence and document the scene before determining what factors contributed to the overrun.
Investigators are expected to closely examine where the aircraft touched down, how fast it was traveling, its braking performance and whether weather or wind conditions affected the landing. Video reviewed by news organizations appeared to show the aircraft remaining airborne well along the runway before touching down, but investigators had not made an official finding about the landing point. Homendy said information taken from the recovered flight data recorder could provide more reliable speed and performance information as the investigation progresses.
The investigation will also examine runway protections at Miami International Airport. Runway 30 does not have an Engineered Materials Arresting System, a bed of crushable material designed to slow aircraft that travel beyond a runway. Homendy said the NTSB would study whether such a system should have been installed and whether it could have affected the outcome. Aviation safety experts cited by The Associated Press said the airport appeared to comply with federal requirements because the runway has a safety area beyond its paved end. The NTSB had reached no conclusion Monday about whether runway design contributed to the crash.
The aircraft was about 32 years old and had originally been used as a passenger jet before being converted for cargo operations. Investigators said the plane had already completed two flights earlier Sunday, traveling from Cincinnati to Miami and then from Miami to San Juan before returning to South Florida on Flight 7598. The NTSB also plans to review the operating relationship between Amazon and 21 Air, including how safety responsibilities are divided. Amazon expressed condolences to those affected and said it would cooperate with investigators.
The accident caused widespread disruption at one of the nation’s busiest passenger and cargo airports. All runways were initially closed and a federal ground stop halted arriving and departing flights. Operations began resuming Sunday evening, but the effects continued Monday. Miami International Airport said two of its four runways remained closed and cancellations were continuing because aircraft and flight crews had been displaced by the previous day’s shutdown.
The crash is another fatal accident involving a Boeing 767 carrying cargo for Amazon’s air network. In February 2019, Atlas Air Flight 3591 crashed into Trinity Bay near Houston while carrying cargo for Amazon and the U.S. Postal Service, killing all three people aboard. The NTSB later determined that the first officer’s response to an unexpected activation of the aircraft’s go-around mode led to spatial disorientation and a loss of control. Investigators have made no comparable finding in the Miami crash, and the two accidents occurred under different circumstances.
The NTSB said its investigators expected to remain at the Miami scene for at least a week and planned another briefing Tuesday. As of Monday evening, no official cause had been announced, the flight recorders were being prepared for detailed analysis, and two airport runways remained closed while recovery and evidence-collection work continued.
Author note: Last updated September 7, 2026.