MIAMI, FL — Five people were killed and five others were injured after an Amazon Prime Air cargo plane overran a runway while landing at Miami International Airport on Sunday, according to local fire rescue officials. The Boeing 767-300 had arrived from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, when it went off the runway.
Authorities said the aircraft struck multiple vehicles on a road near the airport before catching fire. More than 60 members of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded to the scene as crews worked to control the blaze and secure the area.
Cargo jet lands long and hits vehicles near the airport
The aircraft involved was a Boeing 767-300 operating as an Amazon Prime Air flight. It was in the final stage of a trip from Puerto Rico to Miami when it failed to stay on the runway during landing, according to the information released after the crash.
Officials said the plane overran the runway and ended up striking vehicles on a road near the airport. The crash then escalated when the aircraft caught fire, turning a landing accident into a broader emergency response involving airport, fire and rescue crews.
The exact sequence of events that led to the runway overrun has not been detailed publicly, but the impact and fire caused immediate danger on and around the airport property.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue sends more than 60 responders
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said more than 60 of its members were dispatched to the crash site. Their response centered on putting out the fire, protecting nearby people and vehicles, and making sure the area was safe after the impact.
The presence of multiple responders reflects how quickly the incident spread beyond the aircraft itself. Once the plane struck vehicles and ignited, the situation required a large emergency response rather than a routine airport recovery operation.
Fire officials told CBS, the BBC’s U.S. news partner, that the plane hit “multiple vehicles” on the road. That detail underscored that the crash affected traffic and people outside the aircraft as well as those on board.
Airport closes all runways and orders full ground stop
Miami International Airport shut down all of its runways after the crash and issued a full ground stop. That meant flights could not continue departing or arriving normally while emergency crews handled the scene and assessed the damage.
A ground stop is a major disruption for an airport the size of Miami International, especially when a crash involves fire and injuries. Closing the runways also helps keep other aircraft away from an active emergency zone.
Airport operations were interrupted as officials focused on the crash response. No additional details were provided in the immediate information released about when normal operations would resume.
Amazon Prime Air jet had come from San Juan, Puerto Rico
The cargo plane had departed Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan before heading to Miami. The route connected Puerto Rico and South Florida, a busy air corridor for passengers and freight.
Amazon Prime Air uses cargo flights to move packages and logistics traffic, and the aircraft in this incident was carrying that branding at the time of the crash. The Boeing 767-300 is a large cargo jet commonly used for freight operations.
The flight’s origin in San Juan helps frame the journey that ended in the crash on landing. The available information does not indicate what cargo, if any, was aboard or whether it played any role in the fire.
What remains unclear after the crash investigation begins
Several key questions remain unanswered in the immediate aftermath of the accident. Officials had not publicly explained why the plane overran the runway, and they had not provided details about the condition of those injured.
Investigators will likely look at the aircraft’s landing approach, runway conditions and the circumstances that led to the fire after impact. For now, the confirmed facts are the death toll, the injuries, the vehicle strikes and the major airport shutdown.
The crash left a heavy emergency footprint at one of Florida’s busiest airports, with responders still managing the scene after the fire was extinguished. More information is expected as airport and aviation officials continue to review what happened.
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