Five people dead after Amazon cargo plane overshoots runway at Florida airport

LAST UPDATE | 3 hrs ago

AT LEAST FIVE people have died and five more were injured when an Amazon cargo plane overshot a runway as it landed at a Florida airport. 

The plane crashed into vehicles and caught fire at Miami International Airport at around 2pm (7pm Irish time) on Sunday afternoon.

Video showed thick smoke billowing from the blue and white Boeing 767 plane.

The Federal Aviation Administration, which manages air travel in the United States, said in a statement on social media that the incident happened as the plane arrived at the airport from San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Miami-Dade County fire chief Ray Jadallah told reporters that around 60 fire apparatuses with just short of 200 men and women were working on the scene. 

He said that in addition to five fatalities, three people were transported to trauma centres “in critical condition” and two more were treated at a local hospital.

“The airplane did strike a couple of vehicles,” which left “a couple of victims that were actually trapped in the vehicles,” Jadallah said.

“A complex extrication with our technical rescue team” was needed, “including a search and rescue of the pilot and co-pilot that were trapped in this aircraft.”

Advertisement

Jadallah did not clarify whether the pilot or co-pilot survived, and officials declined to answer questions after brief statements were made.

He said the cause of the incident will be determined by the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Investigation launched

In a post on X on Sunday evening, the NTSB said the B-767-300 cargo plane was flying into Miami from San Juan, Puerto Rico and they have “launched a go team to investigate Sunday’s runway excursion accident.”

In a statement, Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said the tech giant will cooperate with any investigation into the incident.

“We’re heartbroken to learn that five people lost their lives in today’s incident at Miami International Airport. Our deepest sympathies go out to the families, loved ones, and all those affected by this devastating loss,” Nantel said.

Miami Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz told reporters Sunday that her officers encountered a “really tragic scene,” but there was “no apparent threat to public safety.”

The airport closed all runways and taxiways because of the incident and posted an update to its website Sunday evening that travellers should check directly with their airline before heading to the airport.

After hours of holding all flights at the international airport Sunday, with numerous delays and cancelled flights for commercial airline passengers, the Miami Herald newspaper reported that two of the airport’s four runways had reopened Sunday.

In a statement on X, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava thanked first responders for their speedy response, saying “our fire rescue team was there within seconds of the crash, so we’re deeply grateful.”

Additional reporting by AFP