At least 5 dead after Amazon cargo plane barreled off runway at Miami airport

An Amazon cargo plane crashed at Miami International Airport on Sunday, resulting in at least five fatalities. The aircraft veered off the runway around 2 p.m. after arriving from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Five people were killed, with three suffering critical injuries and two others sustaining less severe wounds, according to Miami-Dade County officials during a news conference.

Fire Chief Ray Jadallah revealed that some individuals were trapped inside vehicles, while the pilot and copilot remained entangled within the plane. Fire crews continued battling a fuel leak on the aircraft several hours post-incident, as reported by Jadallah. Over 60 Miami-Dade Fire Rescue units responded to the crash, arriving to find the burning plane obstructed by two semi-trucks.

The Prime Air plane came to rest near a roadway, partially intact despite the fire. The Boeing 767 flight was operated by 21 Air, a North Carolina-based cargo carrier. The 32-year-old aircraft, originally designed for passenger transport, had been serving multiple airlines for over two decades before its conversion to cargo use in 2015, as per flight-tracking site Flightradar24.

Approximately 250 flights were disrupted at the airport late on Sunday, as per FlightAware, a flight disruption tracking website. The National Transportation Safety Board has dispatched a team led by Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy to Miami for an investigation, stating that they are collaborating closely with local authorities to determine the exact circumstances surrounding the tragedy.

Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel conveyed via a social media update that their primary concern is the well-being and safety of all those affected.