NTSB Probes Fatal Amazon Cargo Jet Crash at Miami Airport

Federal investigators are working to determine the cause of a fatal cargo plane crash at Miami International Airport on Sunday, which left at least five people dead and five others injured. The aircraft, an Amazon Prime Air Boeing 767 operated by 21 Air, overran the runway around 2 p.m. after arriving from San Juan, Puerto Rico, and plowed into vehicles on a nearby road before catching fire.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Ray Jadallah said the crash trapped the pilot and co-pilot in the cockpit and some occupants in cars. Crews also had to extricate a person trapped under a vehicle. Officials have not confirmed whether the pilots survived or if all those killed were in vehicles at the time of impact.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is leading the investigation. Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy was scheduled to hold a news conference on Monday to outline the probe's next steps.

Aviation experts suggest investigators will likely focus on the plane's landing approach. Steve Arroyo, an aviation safety expert, noted that if the aircraft flew beyond the typical landing zone—the first 3,000 feet of the runway—it should have aborted the landing. Former Transportation Department Inspector General Mary Schiavo pointed to video showing the plane floating above the runway without flaring the nose to touch down. She added that reported strong winds, including a possible tailwind, could have contributed to the plane traveling further down the runway.

Miami International Airport lacks runway safety areas equipped with arresting systems, which are installed at more than 120 airports nationwide to safely stop planes that overshoot runways. The Federal Aviation Administration credits these systems with saving at least 497 lives.

The crash halted flights at the busy hub for much of the afternoon. More than 160 flights were canceled and nearly 325 delayed by late Sunday, according to flight-tracking data. Some flights were diverted to Orlando International Airport. Around 200 emergency personnel responded to the scene, battling a complex engine fire and a fuel leak that persisted for hours.

The 32-year-old Boeing 767 was originally built for passenger service and converted to a cargo plane in 2015. Schiavo said the NTSB will also examine the aircraft's maintenance history, noting its past ownership by a foreign company.

Amazon expressed condolences in a statement, saying it was "heartbroken" by the loss of life and would cooperate fully with the investigation. The crash echoes a similar incident last year when a UPS plane crashed in Louisville, Kentucky, killing all three pilots and 12 people on the ground.