An Amazon Air cargo jet crashed at Miami International Airport on Sunday, veering off a runway during landing and colliding with vehicles outside the airfield. The accident forced the airport to halt all flight activity and drew a fast emergency response as thick smoke rose from the scene. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue deployed more than 60 units to the crash site, according to initial reports.
The aircraft was flying as 21 Air Flight 7598, a cargo service that had departed from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Around 2 p.m. local time on Sept. 6, 2026, the Boeing 767-300 touched down at Miami International and overran the runway while attempting to land. It came to rest on the far side of a perimeter road, beyond the airport’s normal operating area. Footage from the scene showed the unmistakable Amazon Air livery on the jet’s tail, with firefighters pouring foam onto a burning section of the aircraft and heavy black smoke streaming into the Florida sky.
The crash resulted in injuries to multiple people, though the exact number and severity of those injuries were not clear in the immediate aftermath. Authorities did not say whether the wounded were on board the aircraft, on the ground in vehicles, or both. The plane was a freighter and carried no passengers, raising the concern that the damage occurred on the runway or among vehicles on the road where the jet stopped. Emergency crews worked through the afternoon to remove the injured and to contain the fire before it could spread to nearby vehicles or airport infrastructure. At the time of publication, no official death toll had been released, and the total cost of the damage was unknown.
FAA identifies the flight
The Federal Aviation Administration issued a statement confirming the basics of the accident. The agency said: “21 Air Flight 7598 overran the runway after landing at Miami International Airport around 2 p.m. local time on Sunday, Sept. 6. The Boeing 767-300 cargo aircraft departed from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico.” FAA investigators were expected to begin analyzing flight data and the runway environment as soon as access to the crash site was safe.
Flights at Miami International were grounded in the immediate aftermath. Arriving aircraft were forced to hold or divert to other Florida airports, while departures were stopped so that fire trucks and emergency vehicles could access the airfield. Miami International is one of the nation’s busiest airports for both international travel and cargo. It ranks among the top U.S. gateways for freight coming from Latin America and the Caribbean, meaning any prolonged runway closure can have a significant ripple effect through the regional air network. Air travelers were urged to check with their airlines for schedule changes throughout the evening.
Amazon Air and 21 Air
The aircraft involved in the accident is part of Amazon Air, the e-commerce giant’s internal cargo airline network. Amazon Air was launched to reduce Amazon’s dependence on traditional package carriers such as UPS and FedEx and to help the company keep pace with growing demand for fast, often same-day, delivery. Amazon does not fly all of its own aircraft under a single brand. Instead, the company leases dedicated freighters and contracts with established cargo airlines to operate them. Those operators supply the pilots, maintenance crews, and flight certificates needed to run daily cargo routes.
In this case, the operating carrier was 21 Air. The company is one of a handful of U.S. cargo airlines that work closely with Amazon Air, moving thousands of packages each day on routes that connect regional sorting centers and large metropolitan areas. By using outside carriers, Amazon has built an air network that can grow quickly without the lengthy process of obtaining its own airline operating certificate. Amazon’s cargo contractors have over the years included names like Atlas Air, Air Transport International, Southern Air, and 21 Air. The arrangement gives Amazon flexibility, but it also means that accidents involving aircraft painted in Amazon’s branding are the responsibility of the airline that operated the flight, with Amazon acting as the customer and logistics coordinator.
The airplane itself, a Boeing 767-300 freighter, is widely used by express cargo carriers around the world. The twin-engine jet is larger than the modest cargo planes sometimes used for feeder service, yet it is small enough for regional airports and long enough to cover routes between island airports and mainland hubs. Freighter conversions of the 767-300 have become especially common as older passenger jets are retired and converted to haul boxes. The type is considered reliable and powerful, but like any aircraft, its performance depends on correct speed, runway conditions, pilot inputs, and machinery. Investigators will look closely at all of those factors.
Investigation and runway safety questions
A runway overrun occurs when an aircraft fails to stop before reaching the end of the designated landing surface. In this case, the Boeing continued past the pavement and onto an area that was not designed to support a landing, causing severe damage to the jet and to ground vehicles that happened to be near the path. Though runway overruns are far less common than most people assume, they remain one of the highest-risk types of aviation accidents because they happen at low altitude and at ground level, where obstacles can lie just beyond the runway threshold.
Several factors can cause an overrun. Pilots may land too deep or too fast. Rain, oil, rubber deposits, or other contaminants can reduce braking friction. A mechanical issue such as a brake failure, antiskid malfunction, blown tire, or stuck thrust reverser can also make it impossible to slow the aircraft in the available runway length. Flight crews are trained to perform a go-around when an approach is not stable, but once the wheels are on the runway, the decision to stop cannot be easily reversed. Investigators will examine tire marks, brake components, and engine records. They will also study wind data and communications between the pilots and air traffic controllers.
The location of this crash is particularly notable because the aircraft came to rest off airport property, across a road lined with vehicles. Most overruns are caught by engineered runoff areas or open ground before reaching obstacles. For a heavy freighter loaded with cargo and fuel, the speed and momentum can carry it a very long distance. Airport design standards have been revised in recent years to add safer runway end areas and arrestor beds, but many operating airports still have roads, highways, or buildings near their runways. This incident is likely to renew debate about the need for additional protective buffers at major airfields.
Emergency response and support
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said it sent over 60 units to the scene. That unusually large response reflected both the seriousness of the fire and the possibility that multiple ground vehicle occupants were injured. Fire crews from nearby municipalities and firefighting personnel from the airport’s own station were also called in. The first arriving units found the aircraft already burning, and crews had to establish a safe perimeter while they fought the fire. Heavy smoke at the scene could be seen by aircraft on approach and by drivers on roads near the airport. A portion of a perimeter road was closed as police and fire teams secured the area, creating traffic backups in the surrounding community.
The rapid grounding of flights at Miami International added to the disruption. Cargo carriers are a major part of operations at the airport, and a crash involving an Amazon-branded freighter placed renewed attention on the fast-growing field of e-commerce air freight. The aircraft had flown from San Juan, Puerto Rico, a route used to move packages between the island and the U.S. mainland. Cargo from the Caribbean and Latin America frequently connects through Miami, and the airport functions as a major freight gateway for those regions. A lengthy closure of the damaged runway would force carriers to reroute flights and could cause delays for time-sensitive shipments in the days ahead.
Amazon’s statement
Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel provided a statement on the accident: “We can confirm that an Amazon Air plane operated by 21 Air experienced an incident while attempting to land at Miami International Airport today. This is a fast-moving situation and we’re still gathering details. We’re working closely with local authorities and officials to understand exactly what happened. Right now, our absolute priority is the safety, well-being, and care of everyone involved. We’re doing everything we can to support those affected.”
Amazon’s response is typical for a corporate customer involved in an aircraft accident. Although Amazon does not employ the pilots, the company’s brand is on the aircraft, and Amazon logistics managers coordinate the package network that filled the airplane. The company’s public priority is to ensure that injured people receive care and that investigators can determine the cause. Cargo accidents are rare, but they involve the same deeply serious investigation process as incidents involving passenger airliners. The NTSB, FAA
Source: The Verge News