An Amazon Cargo Plane Went Off the Runway at Miami's Airport — Here's What Happened
An Amazon Prime Air cargo plane ran off the end of the runway at Miami International Airport on Sunday, September 6, 2026, catching fire and forcing the airport to shut down.
The FAA (the U.S. government agency that oversees air travel) confirmed that 21 Air Flight 7598 — a Boeing 767-300 cargo plane operated by 21 Air on behalf of Amazon Prime Air — ran off the runway after landing at Miami International around 2:00 p.m. local time. The flight had taken off from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Guardian
Video footage shared widely online showed thick dark smoke rising from the wreckage. The plane's tail, visible in several recordings, carried the Amazon arrow logo. The videos confirm which aircraft was involved and give a sense of how intense the fire was, though what caused the plane to go off the runway still needs to be figured out.
Details about anyone hurt or killed were unclear as of the initial reporting. Some unconfirmed reports suggested there may be casualties, but no official confirmation of injuries or deaths had been released by the FAA or local authorities at the time of publication.
The FAA issued an air and ground stop at MIA, meaning no other planes were allowed to land or take off, because the disabled aircraft was blocking the runway and taxiway. FAA This effectively closed the airport during what is normally a very busy time.
The FAA stated it will investigate the crash. The investigation will follow the agency's standard accident-inquiry process, which uses data collected through the Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing (ASIAS) system. That system, in turn, draws on the NTSB Aviation Accident and Incident Data System, which contains information gathered during NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) investigations of civil aircraft accidents and incidents in the United States. FAA Accident & Incident Data FAA ASIAS
The broader context here matters for several reasons. The Boeing 767-300 is a large twin-engine plane widely used for carrying cargo after being converted from passenger use. Amazon Prime Air doesn't operate its own planes — instead, it hires companies like 21 Air to fly them under the Amazon brand. When an accident involves this setup, the investigation will look at not only what the pilots did and the condition of the plane, but also the business relationships that determine how the aircraft is staffed, maintained, and sent on its way.
A runway overrun — when a plane can't stop before the end of the paved runway — can happen for several reasons, alone or in combination: landing too far down the runway, touching down faster than planned, a wet or slippery surface, brake problems, or incorrect landing calculations. The 767-300 cargo plane can weigh over 140 tons when landing, and at that weight it carries a huge amount of forward energy that has to be absorbed by the wheel brakes, engine thrust reversers (which redirect engine power forward to slow the plane), and spoilers (panels on the wings that pop up to kill lift and slow the aircraft). Think of it like trying to stop a heavily loaded truck on a wet road — if the brakes aren't fully effective or you started braking too late, you run out of road. If any of the plane's slowing systems underperform, or if the crew's speed at touchdown is off by even a few miles per hour, the margin for stopping safely can disappear very quickly.
Miami International's runway layout is also relevant. The airport's main arrival runways, 8R/26L and 9/27, offer roughly 10,000 and 13,000 feet of pavement respectively. Running off a runway that long suggests the plane either touched down well past the start of the landing area, the braking systems didn't work as intended, or something on the runway surface reduced friction. The NTSB, which typically takes the lead on investigations involving commercial airline operations, will examine runway condition reports, the aircraft's flight data recorder (commonly called a black box), the cockpit voice recorder, and any relevant maintenance logs.
The shutdown at MIA has ripple effects across the country's air travel system. Miami is a main gateway for flights to and from Latin America and the Caribbean. When operations there are fully suspended, it disrupts the routes of every major U.S. airline that connects through the southeastern United States. The FAA's traffic management program will likely mean ground delays and rerouted flights heading to South Florida, plus planes already in the air circling and waiting to land.
For Amazon, the incident draws attention to the safety record of its growing delivery network. The company has invested heavily in its own air-cargo system to meet delivery promises, hiring operators like 21 Air, Atlas Air, and others to move packages between its warehouses. Any accident involving a plane painted in Amazon's colors, no matter which company was actually flying it, carries reputational weight for the brand.
The investigation will unfold over the coming months. Preliminary findings from the NTSB typically come out within weeks and cover basic facts like weather conditions, how the plane was configured for landing, and the sequence of events. A final determination of the likely cause generally takes a year or more. In the meantime, the key questions are whether any broader systemic issues contributed to this overrun, whether similar risks exist across Amazon's other contractor-flown planes, and how quickly Miami's airport can get its runways fully back in use.
As of publication, the disabled aircraft remained on the runway, and the airport's operational status was changing. Travelers and cargo shippers with connections through Miami should expect continued disruption until the aircraft is removed and the runway surface is inspected for damage.
