Federal investigators scoured for clues Monday about why a cargo plane failed to stop on a runway at Miami International Airport the day before, resulting in a fiery crash that killed five people. The crash also injured five people, including three critically, and upended holiday travel for hundreds.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it planned to hold a news conference on Monday at 4 p.m. to provide an update. The conditions of the three people who were seriously injured were unclear as of midday Monday.
Officials have not identified the victims, nor specified if those killed were aboard the plane or were on the ground. Some people had been trapped inside their vehicles after the accident, the authorities said.
Videos and images of the crash, as well as information shared by the authorities, establish a broad outline of what occurred on Sunday.
A cargo plane operated for Amazon departed from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and touched down in Miami just before 2 p.m. But for reasons that remain unclear, the plane overran the runway and plowed into a public road, crashing into multiple vehicles, the authorities said.
Air traffic control audio and emergency dispatch recordings captured the moment of the accident.
“Looks like we have an aircraft that overran the runway,” an air traffic controller said around 2 p.m.
Then, a Miami-Dade Fire Rescue official can be heard saying: “Guys, the plane’s on fire, plane’s on fire. Put your game faces on.”
Videos and photos show the plane skidding across Northwest 67th Avenue, a small public road. The aircraft then plowed into a lot, where it caught fire before coming to a stop beside rows of parked vehicles, covered in smoke. Next to the plane, which had “Prime Air” printed on its side in large blue font, were mangled vehicles.
The crash jolted Miami and its airport, the nation’s busiest for international freight, as many remained ensnared in a maelstrom of travel delays on Monday. At least 153 flights were delayed and 65 canceled by noon on Monday, according to FlightAware, a flight tracking website.
At the airport, many tried to sort out delays from the previous night — and waited.
Finan Herbert Sabaroche, 83, a retired educator, said he was returning from the Caribbean island nation of Dominica, where he was born. He had no guarantees about when he would return home to his wife in Norfolk, Va., as he remained on a standby list from Sunday afternoon.
“I don’t have any problem sleeping here,” Mr. Sabaroche said, noting that he needed to get home soon. He and his wife are scheduled to travel in a few days to attend their grandson’s wedding.
Another traveler, Yony Miranda, 58, of New York City, sat slumped in a chair across from the American Airlines ticket counter. He had spent three weeks on vacation in Colombia and arrived on a stopover in Miami late Sunday. Agents rebooked his flight — but not until Tuesday morning.
“I’m not happy about it,” Mr. Miranda said.
The cargo plane crash also comes at a difficult time for the aviation industry, as a recent series of high-profile accidents in the United States has left many travelers unsettled.
In January 2025, a passenger jet and a U.S. Army helicopter crashed near the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., killing 67 people in the deadliest air crash in the country in 20 years. Last November, a U.P.S. cargo plane crashed in Louisville, Ky., killing 15 people. And in March, a plane collided with a fire truck at LaGuardia Airport in New York City, killing both pilots.
The cause of Sunday’s crash was not immediately apparent. But runway excursions — in which an aircraft overruns or otherwise leaves a runway during takeoff or landing — are the most common type of aviation accident reported annually, according to the International Air Transport Association, a global aviation trade group. They can happen for many reasons, including unstable approaches, runway conditions and crosswinds.
Clouds and thunderstorms were moving through the area around Miami International Airport shortly before the plane landing, according to the National Weather Service. Wind gusts of around 30 miles per hour, which peaked in the minute before the crash, could have affected the landing, aviation experts said.
Amazon Air contracts out its cargo flights. The plane that crashed on Sunday was operated by 21 Air, which operates eight planes for the company.
Keith Winters, the chief executive of 21 Air, which is headquartered in Greensboro, N.C., said in a statement that “we are devastated by the accident involving one of our aircraft,” and that the company was cooperating fully with investigators.
Ali Watkins contributed reporting.
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