Amazon cargo plane overshoots runway at Miami airport, striking vehicles

An Amazon cargo plane overran a runway at Miami International Airport on Sept 6, shutting down the airport’s runways and taxiways and prompting an emergency response.

The Boeing 767-300, operated by 21 Air as Prime Air Flight 7598, overshot the runway around 2pm after arriving from Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

“Prime Air Flight 7598 overran Miami International Airport’s diagonal runway and is disabled at the north-west end of the airport,” Indira Almeida-Pardillo, a spokesperson for Miami International Airport, said in a statement. She said all runways and taxiways were closed as of 3pm and a ground stop was in effect.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded to the scene, Almeida-Pardillo said. 

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned of significant delays and possible cancellations in a post on X.

21 Air, a Miami-based cargo airline, began operating Boeing 767-300 freighters on behalf of Amazon in 2024.

Representatives for 21 Air and Amazon didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

The FAA said it will investigate the incident.

The aircraft involved in the crash was more than 32 years old, having first flown June 1994. Over the decades, it changed hands, including operations for Air Europa, Kenya Airways and Atlas Air, a cargo specialist, after being converted into a cargo aircraft in 2016, according to data compiled by the Planespotters website.

The Boeing 767 is no longer in production as a commercial aircraft but still widely flown. The manufacturer still makes the plane in low numbers as military refuelling planes. BLOOMBERG