Federal investigators are examining how an Amazon cargo plane overran the runway at Miami International Airport, struck vehicles on a nearby road and caught fire, killing five people and injuring five others.
The Boeing 767-300, operated by cargo carrier 21 Air as Flight 7598, landed at about 2pm local time on Sunday, September 6, after flying from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The aircraft travelled beyond the runway and across a road used by warehouse workers and other businesses before coming to rest beside two lorries. Thick black smoke rose above the airport as emergency crews tackled the blaze.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said around 200 personnel responded, with more than 60 units sent to the scene. Firefighters used specialist airport equipment and foam to put out the flames, while crews also dealt with a fuel leak and people trapped in vehicles.
Three of those injured were in a critical condition, while two others suffered less serious injuries, officials said. The identities of those who died and those hurt have not been released.
Witness describes moment Amazon plane crashed at Miami airport
Grace Mercado was travelling in a vehicle with her partner when they heard the aircraft go beyond the runway.
“We hear a noise,” she said. “And he goes, ‘Oh my goodness. Is that a plane crash?’”
Ms Mercado said she looked up from her mobile phone and saw the plane crossing the road. She described the noise as “extremely loud” and unlike anything she had heard before.
“The plane was up in smoke,” she said. “It was just, it was like something from a movie. It was crazy.”
She said emergency crews arrived within a minute, after initially seeing no ambulances at the scene.
The National Transportation Safety Board is sending a team led by its chairwoman, Jennifer Homendy, to investigate alongside the Federal Aviation Administration. Investigators are expected to examine the aircraft’s landing, its maintenance history and why it was unable to stop before reaching the end of the runway.
The cause of the crash has not been established. Thunderstorms and wind gusts of up to 30mph were recorded in the area at the time, according to the National Weather Service, but officials have not said whether weather played a role.
Flights at Miami International Airport were halted for much of Sunday. More than 160 flights were cancelled and nearly 325 delayed, while some services were diverted to Orlando International Airport.
Amazon said it was co-operating with the investigation and expressed sympathy for the victims’ families and everyone affected by what it called the “devastating loss”.
