MIAMI — A Boeing 767-300 cargo jet operating for Amazon Prime Air overran a runway at Miami International Airport on Sunday afternoon, struck vehicles on a perimeter road and caught fire, killing five people and injuring five others, officials said.
Prime Air Flight 7598, flown by 21 Air from San Juan, Puerto Rico, touched down shortly before 2 p.m. EDT. Investigators and airport video later indicated the aircraft remained airborne well down the runway before landing, then left the pavement at high speed and plowed into vehicles used by workers around the airport.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Ray Jadallah said at least two people were trapped in vehicles hit by the jet and that the pilot and co-pilot were trapped inside the aircraft. Three of the injured were listed in critical condition. More than 60 rescue units and about 200 personnel responded. Flights at one of the nation’s busiest cargo airports were halted, then resumed Sunday evening; more than 200 flights were disrupted over the Labor Day weekend.
The 32-year-old freighter had previously flown as a passenger jet from 1994 to 2015, according to Flightradar24. Authorities have not released names of the dead or a confirmed cause.
**Rescue and the scene**
Firefighters worked through heavy smoke and wreckage to free people from vehicles and the cockpit. Nearby trauma centers took the most seriously hurt. Officials asked the public not to circulate unverified videos or casualty counts while identities were still being confirmed.
**Investigation begins**
The National Transportation Safety Board sent a team led by Chair Jennifer Homendy and scheduled a briefing for 4 p.m. Monday. Investigators are expected to examine touchdown point, speed and braking, whether a go-around should have been flown, weather and wind, air-traffic communications, and the aircraft’s maintenance and systems history. Flight-data and cockpit recordings, radar tracks and wreckage will be used to reconstruct the landing.
Officials have not attributed the overrun to a mechanical failure, crew action or weather. Any cause offered before that work is finished remains speculative.
**What is known — and what is not**
Confirmed so far: a cargo 767 from San Juan overran a Miami runway, struck vehicles, killed five and injured five. Not confirmed: a passenger airliner with more than 244 people aboard. Early social posts describing a mass-casualty passenger crash were not supported by airport, fire or NTSB statements.
Priorities remain identifying the dead, treating the injured, securing the site and determining why the jet could not stop. Additional details are expected after the NTSB briefing.
