Dramatic footage captured flames bursting from an Amazon cargo plane after it overshot a runway at Miami International Airport, prompting horrified witnesses to fear the aircraft was about to explode.
The Boeing 767, operated by 21 Air, had arrived from San Juan, Puerto Rico, when it slid off the runway at 129 mph shortly after touching down just before 2 p.m. Sunday. At least five people were killed in the crash, and five others were injured.
Video shared by the Miami-based social media account Only in Dade shows fire roaring from the rear of the plane’s right engine as the cargo jet skidded to a halt.
“Oh my f–king God,” the person recording the chaotic scene can be heard screaming.
About 60 fire and rescue services rushed to Miami International Airport in response to the wreck.
“The plane’s on fire. The plane’s on fire,” one emergency responder warned over Broadcastify audio first obtained by the Miami Herald.
The 32-year-old Boeing aircraft landed on runway 30, which stretches more than 9,000 feet, according to Federal Aviation Administration data. Investigators have not yet determined why the plane failed to stop before veering off the runway and striking multiple vehicles.
Three of the injured victims taken to hospitals were reported to be in critical condition.
“A horrific accident, we were there at the yard, and then out of nowhere we just, we could see a plane just coming down and just hear the boom, the explosion that happened, you could feel the shake, you could see the smoke coming out, the flames, just felt like a couple of feet away from us,” truck driver Romiersky Rodriguez, told the NBC affiliate WTVJ.
Rodriguez said he feared the massive jet would explode — and it was later revealed fire crews had to deal with a fuel leak.
“Everything just went chaotic as soon as the plane fell, people all around, smoke everywhere, it’s a horrific experience,” he said.
“I couldn’t get close enough because we were scared that the plane was going to blow up.”
The sound of the crash reverberated through Miami neighborhoods, with Jose Sanchez, who lives three miles from the airport, recalling how his home shook.
He then went outdoors and saw huge plumes of smoke in the distance.
“As I stepped outside, it got stronger,” he told CBS News.
Beth Tilman, who also lives near the airport, told the New York Times how the stench from the fumes was something she had “never smelled before.”
“It wasn’t trees burning. It wasn’t mangroves burning,” she said.
The cause of the plane crash remains unknown and an investigation has been launched by the National Transportation Safety Board.
Investigators are set to examine if the plane flew too far before landing.
The typical landing zone is within the first 3,000 feet of a runway.
Investigators will also look to see if a tailwind contributed to the crash.
With Post wires
