At least five people have died after an Amazon-contracted cargo plane overran a runway in Miami and struck vehicles before bursting into flames, local authorities said.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a post on X at about 3:11 p.m. that 21 Air Flight 7598 overran the runway after landing at about 2 p.m. Sept. 6.
Miami-Dade County officials said in a news conference that five people were killed, three were critically injured and two others hospitalized with less severe injuries.
Fire Chief Ray Jadallah said some people were trapped inside vehicles. The pilot and copilot were also trapped in the plane. Crews were still dealing with a fuel leak several hours after the crash, Jadallah added.
Miami International Airport said Prime Air Flight 7598 was disabled at the northwest end of the airport.
The airport said at 4:50 p.m. that it had opened one runway about an hour after a full ground stop was issued.
It said it was still “experiencing impacts” from the crash and advises people planning to travel to check with their airlines for flight status updates before heading to the airport.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the FAA was sending investigators.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it was “gathering information” about the crash and has launched a go team to investigate. Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy will be on the scene with a briefing to be given Monday.
Miami is a major airport for the southeastern United States and Latin America.
Miam-Dade Fire Rescue said earlier in the day more than 60 units were on scene of the incident, saying it struck multiple vehicles near the airport.
“Units arrived to find an airplane that had caught fire as a result of this crash, with heavy flames and smoke showing,” Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said in an X post. “Firefighters are working on extinguishing the fire and assessing patients.”
In a statement to Global News, Amazon said an Amazon Air plane operated by 21 Air experienced an incident while attempting to land at Miami airport.
“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,” Kelly Nantel, a spokesperson for Amazon said in an email. “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.”
The flight had been operated by 21 Air, a cargo carrier based in North Carolina. The 32-year-old Boeing 767 was originally built to carry passengers and flew for several airlines for more than two decades before being converted to a cargo plane in 2015, according to flight-tracking site Flightradar24.
—with files from The Associated Press