Amazon Cargo Jet Overruns Runway at Miami Airport, Crosses a Road Into a Field

A cargo jet carrying Amazon's logo skidded off the runway at Miami International Airport on Sunday afternoon, crossed a public road, and ended up in a field with black smoke pouring off the aircraft.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane, operating as 21 Air Flight 7598, overran the runway after landing at MIA around 2 p.m. ET Sunday, according to NBC Boston. The Boeing 767-300 cargo aircraft had departed from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

"The FAA will investigate," the agency said in its statement, per NBC Boston.

Who Was Flying It

NBC News, citing the FAA, identified the flight as being operated by 21 Air, a cargo carrier that lists Prime Air, Amazon's logistics arm, as a customer. The Aviation Hub, an aviation industry outlet, pinned down the flight as 21 Air 2I7598, reporting it as a daily San Juan-to-Miami cargo run flown on Amazon's behalf.

The aircraft involved was registered N1997A, according to The Aviation Hub, which traced its history back to 1994. Before it ever flew for Amazon, the jet passed through Sobelair in Belgium, Vietnam Airlines, Ansett Worldwide, Air Europa, Kenya Airways and Nordwind Airlines, which pulled it from service at Shannon Airport in Ireland in December 2014. Atlas Air converted it to a freighter in Tel Aviv in 2015 and 2016, and it flew in Amazon Prime Air colors under Atlas Air's operating certificate before transferring to 21 Air's certificate, still under the Prime Air brand, in January 2025. At the time of Sunday's incident, the airframe was more than 32 years old.

What Happened on the Ground

Video obtained by NBC6 and cited by both the New York Post and Hindustan Times showed the freighter sitting sideways across a roadway with thick black smoke billowing from the wreckage, while cars and semi trucks pulled over nearby. Bystanders were heard yelling "Oh my God!" in the footage.

The Aviation Hub reported the plane departed the paved surface, crossed the airport perimeter road and NW 67th Avenue, and came to rest in an adjacent field. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded to reports of a fire and a collapsed nose landing gear, though the outlet said it had not independently confirmed the extent of damage.

The FAA issued a ground stop for Miami International Airport, listed in an advisory reviewed by Hindustan Times as running from 1743Z to 1900Z (roughly 1:43 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET), citing a "RWY-TAXI / DISABLED AIRCRAFT" issue with a "medium" chance of extension. Departures affected included flights bound for Houston, Jacksonville, Miami, Atlanta and Washington. A Miami airport spokesperson confirmed to NBC News that all runways were closed following the incident but declined to provide further detail. The Aviation Hub separately reported that Runway 30, the one involved, was suspended pending clearance of the debris.

What's Still Unconfirmed

As of the most recent reporting, no outlet had confirmed injuries to the flight crew or anyone on the ground. Cargo flights like this one typically carry only flight crew, with no passengers aboard, according to Cedar News, though the exact crew count had not been released.

There is also a discrepancy. VINnews reported the aircraft "overran the runway during takeoff," but that conflicts with the FAA's own account, corroborated by NBC News, NBC Boston and The Aviation Hub, that this was a landing from San Juan, not a departure. The weight of the sourcing, including the FAA's statement, points to a landing overrun.

Amazon had not responded to requests for comment from either NBC News or NBC6 as of publication. Neither the FAA, the Miami-Dade Aviation Department, Amazon Prime Air nor 21 Air had issued a statement addressing what caused the aircraft to leave the runway.

What Happens Next

The FAA said it will investigate, and The Aviation Hub reported the National Transportation Safety Board is also expected to open an inquiry, standard procedure for any runway excursion involving a large commercial freighter. Investigators will likely examine landing performance data, runway conditions at the time, and any mechanical issues with an airframe now more than three decades old.

The questions ahead are what caused a 767 to run off the pavement and through a public roadway, whether the reported nose gear collapse played a role, and whether the aircraft's age or maintenance history factors into the NTSB's eventual findings. None of that has been established yet.