At least five people died after a Boeing cargo plane operating for Amazon overran a runway at Miami International Airport and crashed onto a busy roadway.
Footage and images from the scene shared by NBC Miami show the Amazon-branded aircraft sitting dangerously close to a building as smoke poured from the wreckage.
The plane had arrived from San Juan, Puerto Rico, and was landing in Miami when it overshot the runway at around 2 p.m. Sunday before striking multiple vehicles on Northwest 42nd Avenue, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue told Our News Outlet.
Fire crews reached the scene within about 30 seconds of the emergency call and discovered people trapped inside vehicles, Fire Chief Raied Jadallah said during a news conference Sunday evening.
Responders also found the Boeing 767-3000 engulfed in heavy flames, with thick smoke rising from the aircraft.
‘What we found was a very complex situation here,’ Jadallah said.
Officials said at least five people were killed, while three others were listed in critical condition at a local trauma center.
Two more people were taken to the hospital with injuries that have not been specified. Authorities have not released the names of those who died or the victims who were hospitalized.
Five people were killed and five others were left injured after an Amazon cargo plane crashed after overrunning the runway at the Miami International Airport on Sunday
The plane caught on fire as a result of the crash and killed five as it collided into vehicles
The plane crashed into multiple vehicles after it overran the runway, leaving them ‘mangled’
Flight data from tracking site FlightRadar24 shows the cargo flight, operated by North Carolina-based 21 Air, was traveling at 129mph as it exited the ‘usable runway’ amid thunderstorms and gusting winds.
It then came to a rest near a parking lot that services and Amazon warehouse and other businesses, with photos from the scene showing the plane largely intact behind two semitrucks.
A spokesperson for the airport also told Our News Outlet that the plane ‘overran Miami International Airport’s diagonal runway and is disabled at the northwest end of the airport.’
But in distressing radio traffic obtained by the Miami Herald, a firefighter could be heard telling colleagues: ‘The plane is on fire. The plane is on fire. Put your game face on guys.’
Firefighters could also be heard on the emergency radio dispatch scrambling to get hoses close enough to the plane to spray water to suppress the flames.
Making matters worse, the aircraft’s left engine was still running when firefighters battled the blaze, making it dangerous for them to enter the plane to check for patients inside.
The firefighters could be heard in the radio traffic saying the pilots onboard told them they could not turn the engine off because they would need to ‘energize’ the aircraft, leaving firefighters on the scene forced to flood the engine with water.
Meanwhile, Rohan Ellis, 34, a student pilot who was on the other side of the airport when the Prime Air plane crashed, described the vehicles on the road as ‘mangled’ to The New York Times.
One person was then left trapped underneath one of the struck vehicles and had to be extricated by specialized rescue personnel, fire crews told Our News Outlet as they continued to try to stop a fuel leak at the scene.
Smoke billowed into the sky after the Prime Air plane crashed into a busy road
Officials are seen investigating the runway incursion on Sunday evening
Following the crash, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy issued a full ground stop at the airport.
‘If you’re traveling through the area, please expect significant delays and potential cancellations,’ he posted on social media, adding that the Federal Aviation Administration will send inspectors to the scene.
The National Transportation Safety Board has also said it launched a team to investigate the ‘runway excursion accident.’
Miami International Airport has since reopened two of its four runway, but flights are still being impacted, with about 250 flights delayed at the airport late Sunday afternoon, according to FlightAware.
In the meantime, Amazon said in a statement that it is still gathering information during this ‘fast-moving situation.’
‘We’re working closely with local authorities and officials to understand exactly what happened,’ it said.
‘Right now, our absolute priority is the safety, well-being, and care of everyone involved. We’re doing everything we can to support those affected.’
The NTSB will be holding a news conference on the crash on Monday.
This is a breaking story, please check back for updates.
