Amazon Prime Air Boeing 767 after overrunning a runway at Miami International Airport on September 6, 2026.
Five Killed on Ground as Amazon Cargo Jet Overruns Miami Runway, NTSB Examines Landing
By Shahnoor Saqib | SCN NEWS
MIAMI — All five people killed when an Amazon Prime Air cargo jet overran a runway at Miami International Airport were in vehicles struck by the aircraft, federal investigators said Monday, sharpening the focus of the investigation on how a routine cargo arrival turned into a deadly runway excursion beyond the airport perimeter. National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said seven people were inside a van belonging to an airline cleaning contractor when the Boeing 767 struck it after overrunning Runway 30 on Sunday. The aircraft subsequently tore through airport fencing and hit another vehicle before coming to rest in a grassy area.
The Boeing 767-300 freighter, operating as Prime Air Flight 7598, had arrived from San Juan, Puerto Rico, shortly before 2 p.m. EDT when it failed to stop on the runway. Reuters reported that flight-tracking data showed the aircraft moving at about 112 knots, or 129 mph, when it exited the usable runway. Five people were killed and five others injured, three critically, while the pilot and copilot were initially trapped inside the aircraft following the crash. More than 60 emergency units and roughly 200 personnel responded as firefighters battled flames and dealt with leaking fuel.
Monday's NTSB briefing provided a clearer picture of what happened after the jet left the pavement. Homendy said investigators followed tire marks from the runway into the grass and documented the destroyed van, damaged airport fencing and navigational equipment before reaching a second crushed vehicle outside airport property. The van was identified as a 2012 Ford Econoline belonging to Professional Ocean Service Corporation, a contract cleaning company serving airlines, and was carrying seven people. The aircraft then struck a Toyota Corolla Cross traveling on Northwest 67th Avenue.
Investigators have not yet determined the probable cause, and early questions about pilot actions, weather or aircraft performance should not be treated as conclusions. One central issue, however, will be where on the runway the Boeing actually touched down. Video reviewed by aviation experts appeared to show the aircraft remaining airborne well down the runway before landing, raising questions over whether enough pavement remained to stop safely. A normal touchdown zone is generally within the first 3,000 feet of a runway, and investigators are expected to establish the precise touchdown point using flight-recorder data, airport surveillance and physical evidence.
Weather and aircraft performance will also be examined. It was not raining at the time, although dark storm clouds and strong winds were reported in the area. Former U.S. Transportation Department Inspector General and pilot Mary Schiavo said a tailwind could have worsened an already long landing by increasing the distance traveled before touchdown. Investigators will examine wind, approach speed, braking performance, mechanical condition and crew decision-making, including why the pilots did not execute a go-around if a safe landing was no longer assured.
The NTSB has recovered both the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder, potentially giving investigators critical evidence about aircraft performance and communication between the pilots during the final approach and landing. The recorders are being taken to NTSB headquarters for downloading and analysis. Investigators will also examine the aircraft's maintenance records and operational history before reaching conclusions about what caused the runway excursion.
The aircraft itself adds another dimension to the investigation. The jet was a 32-year-old Boeing 767 that originally operated as a passenger aircraft before being converted for freight operations in 2015. Although carrying Amazon Prime Air cargo, the flight was operated by North Carolina-based cargo airline 21 Air. Amazon said it was heartbroken by the deaths, expressed sympathy to the victims' families and said it would cooperate with the investigation.
The accident is also drawing attention to infrastructure designed to reduce the consequences of runway overruns. Miami International does not have an Engineered Materials Arresting System, or EMAS, at the runway involved. Such systems use beds of crushable material beyond a runway to slow an aircraft that cannot stop normally. The FAA has installed the technology at more than 120 U.S. airports, and the agency says such systems have helped safely stop overrunning aircraft. Miami, however, was not required to have one because its runway has the required 1,000-foot safety area, according to former FAA airport-safety official Mike O'Donnell.
That distinction could become one of the accident's broader safety questions. Compliance with existing runway-safety standards does not by itself establish whether additional infrastructure could have changed the outcome, and investigators have not concluded that EMAS would have prevented Sunday's fatalities. The physical path documented by the NTSB — runway, grass, cleaning van, perimeter infrastructure and another vehicle outside airport property — nevertheless demonstrates why runway excursions can create risks extending well beyond passengers and crews aboard an aircraft.
The crash also caused major disruption at one of America's busiest aviation gateways. Two of Miami International's four runways remained closed Monday, while more than 160 flights were canceled Sunday and hundreds delayed. Reuters reported that by midday Monday inbound flights were averaging delays exceeding five hours and 232 flights had been canceled over the preceding 24 hours. The FAA separately issued an advisory warning airlines to expect arrival delays because of the aircraft accident.
The NTSB investigation is still at an early stage, meaning no determination has been made about whether pilot decision-making, wind, braking, aircraft systems or another factor caused the Boeing 767 to overrun the runway. The recovered cockpit and flight recorders should allow investigators to reconstruct the aircraft's final minutes with substantially greater precision. What is already established is the unusual human toll: the aircraft's path carried the disaster beyond the runway and into people on the ground who were going about their work and travel around the airport.