Five people were killed and five others injured on Sunday, September 5, when an Amazon cargo plane overran the end of the runway at Miami International Airport, hitting several vehicles and catching fire, local authorities reported.
“We now know that five people lost their lives and five others were injured”declared the mayor of Miami-Dade County, Daniella Levine Cava, during a press conference given at the airport, a little less than three hours after the accident, without specifying the identity of the victims.
Among the injured people, three are in a “critical condition” and the other two were transported to a local hospital, Miami-Dade Fire Chief Ray Jadallah added. The accident occurred early in the afternoon, just before 5 p.m. (8 p.m. in Paris)
The US aviation regulator (FAA) reported that the cargo plane involved was Prime Air Flight 7598, a Boeing 767-300 from Puerto Rico, and announced it was opening an investigation. “Prime Air Flight 7598 went off the runway at Miami International Airport (…)leaving the aircraft stopped northwest of the airport »reported the Florida airport on its X account. “It came to rest in a field adjacent to the airport”Daniella Levine Cava told the press.
The local fire chief confirmed that the device had struck several vehicles, leading his teams to carry out “a complex extrication operation” to help “several victims who were trapped inside”.
The pilot and co-pilot trapped in the cockpit
The firefighters also had to remove the pilot and co-pilot, trapped in the cockpit, while the plane’s engines were “on fire”he explained. He finally specified that his teams were working to control a kerosene leak at the rear of the aircraft.
Videos of the accident posted on social media showed thick smoke and flames rising from a plane bearing Prime Air lettering in light blue, which appeared to have crossed a road before stopping its course. Several trucks are nearby.
“Upon arrival, the teams found a plane that had caught fire, with large flames and smoke”initially described the firefighters on the social network X, specifying that they had mobilized more than sixty of their members.
After interrupting its traffic for a while, Miami airport indicated on X that it had reopened a first runway around 5 p.m. (11 p.m. in Paris), then a second an hour later.
In images shot by Agence France-Presse (AFP) around 4 p.m., the fire appeared to have been extinguished. Police cars and ambulances with flashing lights were visible around the perimeter.
Questioned by AFP, Amazon confirmed the accident which occurred during landing and said “do everything possible to help those affected”according to its spokesperson Kelly Nantel.
The American Transportation Safety Agency (NTSB) announced in a press release that it was sending investigators to the site and plans to organize a press conference on Monday in Miami.
In November 2025, the crash of a cargo plane from the American carrier UPS taking off from Louisville airport, in Kentucky, in the east-central United States, after one of its engines had separated, caused 15 deaths: 12 on the ground and three crew members.
Last March in New York, a collision between a plane operating on behalf of Air Canada and a fire truck at LaGuardia Airport cost the lives of the plane’s two pilots and left several dozen injured.
