A serious aircraft accident involving a jet in Amazon Air livery occurred in the early afternoon of Sunday, 6 September 2026, at Miami airport. The aircraft was 21 Air flight 7598, which had just landed on runway 30 at Miami International Airport at around 14.00 local time, arriving from Luis Muñoz Marín airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Instead of stopping, the Boeing 767-300F overran the runway, crossed a road beyond the airport perimeter, struck several vehicles and caught fire, coming to rest near a car park serving an Amazon warehouse. Flightradar24 data indicate a speed of 112 knots at the point where the aircraft left the usable runway surface, falling to 69 knots in the last available reading.
Miami-Dade County authorities said the accident caused five deaths and five injuries, three of them serious enough to require hospital treatment. The injured included the aircraft’s two pilots, who had been trapped in the cockpit. The accident led to the closure of all the airport’s runways and taxiways, causing more than 160 flight cancellations and 325 delays. By Sunday evening, two of the four runways had reopened.
The aircraft involved, registered N1997A, is a Boeing 767-33A(ER)(BDSF) that entered service in 1994 as a passenger aircraft. It flew for Sobelair, Vietnam Airlines, Air Europa, Kenya Airways and Nordwind Airlines before being converted into a freighter in 2015 for Atlas Air. 21 Air has operated it since January 2025. The company is based in Greensboro, North Carolina, and operates Boeing 767s on a contract basis for both Amazon and DHL. Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said the company is working with local and federal authorities, while 21 Air CEO Keith Winters described the company as "devastated" by what had happened, adding that its immediate priorities are supporting those involved and cooperating with investigators.
The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) has announced the opening of an investigation, stressing that the initial information is preliminary and subject to change. Among the factors investigators will have to examine are landing speed and configuration, runway conditions, braking, use of thrust reversers, possible aquaplaning, wind and aircraft performance. The inquiry will also look closely at the aircraft’s maintenance history, partly because of the many international ownership changes it has undergone during its operating life.
