Five dead after Amazon cargo plane overshoots runway at Miami airport
An Amazon cargo plane overshot the runway at Miami International Airport, killing five people and injuring five others; investigators are examining the cause.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Five people have died after an Amazon cargo plane overshot the runway at Miami International Airport and crashed into vehicles, bursting into flames. The Boeing 767-300, operating as Amazon Prime Air, was inbound from Puerto Rico when it overran the runway on Sunday afternoon. It crossed a road, hit a van containing seven people, then collided with an SUV before coming to rest near a car park, almost 400 metres from the runway. The aircraft was travelling at nearly 130 miles per hour at the time.
Emergency services responded within seconds, with more than 200 firefighters from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue attending. The fire was described as complex, burning in the engine compartment. Specialist teams shut down the engine and controlled a fuel leak. The pilot and co-pilot were trapped and had to be rescued. Ten people were involved in the crash: five died, three were in critical condition and two were taken to hospital. It is not yet known whether those who died were on the plane or on the ground.
The crash happened at about 1.58pm local time, during the Labor Day weekend, one of the busiest travel periods in the US. All runways at the airport were closed for several hours, with two of four reopened by 5pm. Air traffic control ordered a full air and ground stop, halting arrivals and departures at one of America's busiest hub airports.
The aircraft was operated by 21 Air, a charter company based in North Carolina, which said it was devastated by the accident. Amazon said it was heartbroken to learn of the deaths and was working with investigators. The National Transportation Safety Board has assembled a team to investigate. The flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder have been recovered. Officials say it is too early to determine the cause.
On screen
Stills are sampled automatically at 60-second intervals. Where shown, the still is the nearest available frame from the relevant broadcast segment and is included to show what was on screen during that part of the broadcast. A still may not correspond to the exact second of a quoted phrase.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | Channel 5 | BBC News | BBC One | BBC Two | Channel 4 | GB News | ITV | Sky News |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A technical issue in the flight processing system used by air traffic control affected departing flights across the UK. | · | |||||||
| Around 2,000 flights were cancelled due to the air traffic control issue, with further cancellations on the second day. | · | · | ||||||
| Ryanair called for the CEO of NATS to quit. | · | · | ||||||
| Five people were killed in the crash. | · | · | · | |||||
| The plane struck nearby vehicles. | · | · | · | |||||
| A cargo plane overshot the runway at Miami International Airport, hitting vehicles and bursting into flames. | · | · | · | · | ||||
| The CEO ruled out a cyber attack. | · | · | · | · | ||||
| The government summoned NATS CEO Martin Rolfe to a meeting. | · | · | · | · | ||||
| A fix was in place. | · | · | · | · | · | |||
| An investigation is underway. | · | · | · | · | · | |||
| Five other people were injured, three critically. | · | · | · | · | · | |||
| NATS engineers were working to fix the issue, but recovery was expected to take time. | · | · | · | · | · |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
BBC ONE West initially reported the breaking news with no confirmed casualties, then later updated with the death toll. It highlighted the plane's operator, Amazon Prime, and the closure of all runways, and included witness reaction.
- “We have no specific word on casualties as yet, but the fire service on the ground there saying that multiple patients are being treated.”
- “It's not yet known whether those who died were in the plane, on the ground or both.”
Sky News provided detailed casualty figures and a timeline, citing the sheriff and fire chief. It emphasised the complexity of the rescue, including trapped victims and the search for the pilots.
- “Five people have been killed after an Amazon cargo plane over Shona runway in the United States”
- “the sheriff says the crash happened at 1 58 the plane struck several vehicles Trapping victims inside.”
BBC News focused on the technical details of the crash, including the aircraft's speed, the complex fire in the engine compartment, and the impact on airport operations. It also reported the NTSB investigation and Amazon's statement.
- “This Amazon Prime Air cargo plane inbound from Puerto Rico overshot the runway at Miami International Airport, traveling at nearly 130 miles per hour.”
- “The US National Transportation Safety Board says it has assembled a team to investigate the incident.”
Channel 4 gave a concise summary of the crash, focusing on the deaths and injuries and Amazon's cooperation with investigators.
- “Five people have been killed after an Amazon cargo plane crashed at Miami airport.”
- “Amazon said it was working with investigators to work out exactly what happened.”
5 News reported the investigation and the casualty numbers, noting the plane burst into flames and sent thick black smoke into the sky.
- “An investigation is underway to find out why an Amazon cargo plane overshot the runway at Miami airport in the US.”
- “At least five people died and five people were seriously injured in the incident.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.