A cargo plane overran a runway at Miami International Airport, struck multiple vehicles, and caught fire, leaving five people dead and five others injured in a devastating crash that sent emergency crews racing toward the scene.
What began as a landing at one of the busiest airports in the United States quickly turned into a chaotic emergency outside the airport boundary.
Firefighters were confronted with flames, heavy smoke, trapped victims, and leaking fuel as they worked through the wreckage. Residents living near the airport described hearing a powerful impact and feeling their homes shake, while emergency vehicles began converging on the area from multiple directions.
At least **five people died** after an Amazon Air cargo plane overran a runway while landing at Miami International Airport (MIA) on Sunday, September 6, 2026, before leaving the airport grounds and striking several vehicles.
**Five other people were injured.** Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Raied “Ray” Jadallah said three of those injured were critically hurt and transported to a trauma center. Two additional victims were taken to a local hospital, according to CNN.
The crash created an especially difficult rescue operation because some of the victims were inside vehicles that had been struck by the aircraft.
Emergency personnel had to work around the damaged vehicles while also dealing with the aircraft fire and the danger posed by leaking fuel.
Jadallah said rescue crews were required to free victims who had become trapped as a result of the collision. The circumstances meant firefighters and technical rescue specialists had to carefully navigate the scene rather than simply approach the aircraft as they would during a conventional airport emergency.
Authorities had **not publicly identified those killed or injured**, [ABC News](https://abcnews.com/US/cargo-plane-overruns-runway-miami-international-airport-faa/story?id=136242081) reported.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) identified the aircraft as **21 Air Flight 7598**, a Boeing 767-300 cargo plane.
The flight had originated at Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and was traveling toward Miami when the aircraft went beyond the runway after landing at approximately 2 p.m.
The aircraft was operated by **21Air on behalf of Amazon Air**.
That connection placed a familiar commercial name at the center of a tragedy that unfolded far beyond the normal passenger terminal environment.
CNN reported that the plane was part of the extensive network of more than 250 aircraft Amazon uses each day to transport customer shipments across its logistics system.
Amazon Air operates a large cargo fleet that includes more than 100 aircraft, including Boeing 737s and 767s as well as Airbus A330s.
Those aircraft transport an enormous variety of goods.
Packages and general merchandise can share cargo space with flowers, dry ice, temperature-sensitive medicines, fish, fruit, and other time-sensitive shipments.
On Sunday, however, the aircraft’s cargo mission became secondary to an emergency that was unfolding on the ground.
The Boeing 767 had left the airport’s normal operational area after the runway overrun, bringing the danger directly into an area where vehicles and people were present.
## **What Crews Found Beyond the Airport Boundary**
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue received reports at approximately 1:55 p.m. of a hazardous situation involving a cargo aircraft that had struck multiple vehicles near the airport.
The initial call immediately triggered a major emergency response.
More than 60 units and approximately 200 personnel were sent to the scene, the department [said](https://x.com/MiamiDadeFire/status/2096681097732002266).
When firefighters arrived, they found the aircraft beyond the airport’s operational boundary.
Heavy flames and thick smoke were visible.
The scene presented multiple hazards at once.
There was an aircraft involved in a serious runway overrun.
There were vehicles that had been struck.
There were people requiring immediate medical attention.
And there was the additional threat of leaking fuel.
Firefighters encountered what the department described as a **complex engine compartment fire**.
Specialized airport firefighting units moved in with foam to suppress the flames while other crews concentrated on searching for victims and determining whether anyone remained trapped.
The response had to happen quickly, but it also had to be carefully controlled.
A fire involving an aircraft carries risks that go beyond the visible flames. Fuel, damaged mechanical systems, hot surfaces, and unstable wreckage can make an already dangerous rescue operation even more complicated.
At one point, one person was **trapped beneath a vehicle** and had to be freed by specialized technical rescue personnel.
That rescue required crews with specialized equipment to reach the victim and carefully remove the obstruction without creating additional danger.
Meanwhile, hazardous materials personnel worked on another major concern.
The aircraft’s engine was shut down, and crews began working to contain a fuel leak.
Containing leaking aviation fuel became a critical part of the operation because spilled fuel can create an additional fire hazard while rescue and recovery efforts are still underway.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue ultimately transported **five patients** to local hospitals.
By the department’s 6:25 p.m. update, the firefighting response had begun transitioning into a supporting role.
Crews remained involved, however, particularly as agencies continued working to **mitigate the fuel leak** and manage the aftermath of the crash.
Officials said there was no wider public safety concern for the surrounding Miami-Dade community.
Even so, authorities urged people to stay away from the area while emergency operations continued.
For residents nearby, the warning was more than a routine request.
The crash had happened close enough to populated areas that people could hear and feel the impact.
## **The First Signs of the Crash Reached Nearby Homes**
The force of the impact was strong enough to shake a home in a nearby neighborhood.
Jose Sanchez, who lives along Northwest 38th Terrace, initially thought he had heard an **explosion or a truck crash**.
It was only after the sound and vibration passed that the reality of what had happened began to become clear.
For residents who live near the airport, aircraft are a familiar part of daily life.
Planes take off.
Planes land.
Engines can be heard overhead.
The sound of aviation becomes part of the background of the neighborhood.
But this was different.
A powerful impact, followed by smoke, emergency vehicles, and the unmistakable signs of a major fire, transformed an ordinary afternoon into a scene of confusion and fear.
People nearby began trying to understand what had happened.
Where had the aircraft gone?
Had it struck anyone?
Was the fire still spreading?
Were people trapped?
Those questions were being answered slowly as firefighters and other emergency personnel worked through the wreckage.
The crash also illustrated how quickly an aviation emergency can extend beyond an airport’s controlled environment.
What should have been a routine cargo landing ended with an aircraft beyond the runway, damaged vehicles, victims requiring rescue, and firefighters battling flames while attempting to control leaking fuel.
For the families of those who died, the tragedy was far more than an aviation incident.
Five people would not return home.
Five others were taken to hospitals, including three whose injuries were described as critical.
And behind every number was a person with family, friends, coworkers, and a life that suddenly changed in a matter of seconds.
As investigators begin examining the circumstances surrounding the runway overrun, officials will have to reconstruct what happened from the moments before the aircraft touched down through the impact and the chaotic minutes that followed.
Questions about the aircraft, the landing, runway conditions, the sequence of events, and the reason the plane went beyond the runway will become central to the investigation.
For now, the images from Miami tell only part of the story: a cargo aircraft lying beyond the airport boundary, emergency crews surrounding the wreckage, smoke rising from the scene, damaged vehicles, and a neighborhood suddenly confronted with a disaster far closer than anyone expected.
The investigation will determine how the crash happened.
But for those who were there, the memory of that afternoon will likely begin with something much simpler.
A sound.
A violent impact.
A house shaking.
And then the realization that something had gone terribly wrong.