All Runways Closed, Multiple Injured as NTSB and FAA Launch Investigation Into Sunday Afternoon Crash
The Navarro Report | Miami
A Prime Air cargo plane overran the runway while landing at Miami International Airport Sunday afternoon, striking multiple vehicles and erupting into flames in a crash that forced the closure of every runway at one of the nation’s busiest airports and triggered a massive emergency response.
The Federal Aviation Administration said 21 Air Flight 7598, a Boeing 767-300 freighter that had departed from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, overran the runway at approximately 2 p.m. local time. The aircraft crossed a roadway near the 2100 block of Northwest 42nd Avenue, struck several vehicles including two semi-trucks, and came to rest largely intact on its belly in a field near an Amazon warehouse. Video from the scene showed thick black smoke billowing into the sky as the plane burned.
More than 60 units from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded to the scene, arriving to find the aircraft engulfed in heavy flames. Fire officials confirmed “multiple patients” but had not, as of Sunday evening, released an official count of injuries or details on severity. A source with knowledge of the incident told NBC 6 South Florida that two pilots were taken to Jackson South Medical Center and three additional individuals to Jackson Memorial Hospital, putting the confirmed number receiving treatment at five. Unverified social-media reports Sunday afternoon claimed multiple fatalities; those claims had not been corroborated by the FAA, the NTSB, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, or Amazon as of this writing, and readers should treat them cautiously until an official account is released.
Amazon confirmed the aircraft was operated on its behalf by 21 Air, one of several contracted cargo carriers that fly Boeing 767 freighters under the Prime Air brand; Amazon itself does not hold an air operator certificate for these flights. “We can confirm that an Amazon Air plane operated by 21 Air experienced an incident while attempting to land at Miami International Airport today,” company spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in a statement. “This is a fast-moving situation and we’re still gathering details. Right now, our absolute priority is the safety, well-being, and care of everyone involved.”
The crash prompted an immediate ground stop and the closure of all runways and taxiways at Miami International, one of the busiest airports in the country and a critical hub for domestic and Latin American air traffic. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the ground stop allowed first responders to safely assess the scene, and he warned travelers to brace for “significant delays and potential cancellations.” Airport officials reported one of MIA’s four runways reopened by roughly 4:15 p.m., but FlightAware data showed about 250 flights delayed by late afternoon, with the FAA cautioning that operations would resume only at a reduced rate. Passengers were advised to check directly with their airlines, and Metrorail travelers were told they would need to transfer at the Earlington Heights station to reach the airport via the Orange Line.
The National Transportation Safety Board said Sunday it was gathering information and is expected to lead the formal investigation, a standard practice for accidents of this severity; the agency will recover and analyze the flight data and cockpit voice recorders. The FAA separately confirmed it would investigate the runway excursion. No preliminary cause had been identified as of Sunday evening, and a preliminary FAA report is not typically released until the following business day at the earliest.
It is worth noting, for readers encountering conflicting information online, that this incident is unrelated to a separate and far deadlier accident involving Prime Air branding: the February 2019 crash of an Atlas Air-operated Boeing 767 into Trinity Bay near Houston, which killed all three people aboard. That crash involved a different aircraft, a different operator, and a loss-of-control event in flight rather than a runway excursion; the two incidents share only the Prime Air markings, and social media posts have already begun conflating them.
This remains a rapidly developing story. The Navarro Report will provide updates as the FAA, NTSB, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, and Amazon release additional confirmed information on injuries, the condition of those hospitalized, and the preliminary cause of the runway overrun.
Human-Directed AI Journalism — This piece was researched, directed, and edited by Jose E. Navarro, with AI-assisted drafting and fact-compilation support.