An Amazon Prime Air cargo plane overran a runway at Miami International Airport on Sunday, striking vehicles, catching fire, and forcing the closure of all runways, with about 250 flights delayed as investigators from the FAA and NTSB responded.
An Amazon Prime Air cargo plane overran a runway at Miami International Airport on Sunday afternoon, striking multiple vehicles, bursting into flames, and forcing the closure of all runways at one of the nation's busiest airports.
The Federal Aviation Administration said Prime Air Flight 7598 overran the runway around 2 p.m. ET after arriving from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The aircraft came to rest beside a roadway near two semi-trucks, according to images from the scene. Despite the fire, the plane appeared to be resting on its belly and was largely intact.
More than 60 Miami-Dade Fire Rescue units responded to the crash, arriving to find the aircraft on fire as crews worked to extinguish the flames and assess patients. Officials had not yet released information on injuries or deaths as of Sunday afternoon.
The plane was operated by 21 Air, a cargo carrier based in North Carolina. The aircraft itself is a 32-year-old Boeing 767 originally built to carry passengers, which flew for several airlines for more than two decades before being converted to a cargo plane in 2015, according to flight-tracking site Flightradar24.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the FAA was sending investigators and issued a full ground stop at Miami International as emergency crews responded. Duffy also posted on the social platform X that Miami travelers should expect significant delays or potential cancellations.
An airport spokesperson confirmed that all runways and taxiways were closed following the incident. About 250 flights were delayed at the airport as of late Sunday afternoon, according to flight-disruption tracking site FlightAware.
The FAA warned that delays were likely to persist even after the airport reopened, with arrivals and departures expected to resume at a reduced rate.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it was gathering information about the crash.
Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel addressed the incident in a social media post. "We're working closely with local authorities and officials to understand exactly what happened," Nantel said. "Right now, our absolute priority is the safety, well-being, and care of everyone involved."
The closure comes on a busy holiday weekend, compounding the disruption for travelers passing through Miami International, a major hub for domestic and international routes.
With investigators from both the FAA and NTSB now engaged, attention will turn to the operational and maintenance history of the 32-year-old aircraft, the performance of the runway approach, and whether 21 Air's cargo conversion and procedures meet federal standards — questions that could carry broad implications for the growing network of third-party carriers operating within Amazon's air freight operation.
Jay Goldberg is a staff writer at TechEchelon covering technology, markets, and policy. He files the breaking news and deal coverage that move the publication's core desks.
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