A cargo plane crashed while landing at Miami International Airport on 6 September, and five people on the ground lost their lives. The Boeing 767 freighter was carrying packages for Amazon when it ran off the end of the runway and hit vehicles nearby.
What went wrong when the cargo plane could not stop, and what happens now?
The aircraft was 21 Air Flight 7598. It flew from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Miami International Airport in Florida, one of the busiest cargo airports in the United States. The plane was a Boeing 767, a large twin-engine freighter that carried packages for Amazon. It was 32 years old. The company that flew the plane, 21 Air, works for Amazon Air on this route. It carries goods, not passengers.
The plane landed on runway 30 at about 1:53 p.m. It did not stop in time, and it ran off the end of the runway. This is called a runway excursion, when a plane leaves the runway while landing or taking off. The plane first hit a van. Seven workers from an airline cleaning company were inside it. Then the plane broke through a fence and crossed a busy road near the airport. It hit a car on the road too. A small fire started, but firefighters put it out quickly. First responders described the scene near the airport as “utter devastation.”
Five people died in the crash, and five more were hurt. Both pilots who were flying the plane were among the injured. The captain was 55 years old. He had received his type rating on the Boeing 767 only a few months before the crash. The first officer had trained on the same aircraft the year before. Investigators have not yet said why the plane could not stop. They are looking closely at the aircraft’s age and its brakes.
The National Transportation Safety Board, known as the NTSB, is now investigating the crash. This US government agency looks into transport accidents to find out what went wrong. Investigators have recovered the plane’s flight recorders. People often call these “black boxes.” They store data and cockpit sound from the final minutes of a flight. Investigators will use this information, along with maintenance records and interviews with the crew, to build a full picture of what happened.
The crash also affected the airport for days afterwards. The FAA ordered a ground stop, so other planes could not land there for a while. More than 160 flights were cancelled, and hundreds more were delayed across the airport’s busy schedule. Some families of the victims have already started legal action against 21 Air. They say the aircraft’s age and poor training played a part in the crash. The airline has not yet responded to these claims in detail. The full NTSB report is expected to take many months, and the crash has already led to new questions about how airlines check older cargo planes before they keep flying them.
Check your understanding
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What is a runway excursion?
The article explains that a runway excursion happens when a plane leaves the runway while landing or taking off, exactly what happened to Flight 7598 in Miami.
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True or false: investigators have already said exactly why the plane could not stop.
The article says investigators have not yet said why the plane could not stop, and are still looking closely at the aircraft’s age and its brakes.
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Based on the article, why did the crash affect travellers far beyond Miami?
The article states that the FAA’s ground stop caused more than 160 flight cancellations and hundreds of delays across the airport’s busy schedule, showing the crash’s effects reached well beyond Miami.
- runway excursion (noun phrase) – when an aircraft leaves the runway while landing or taking off. Typical use: “This is called a runway excursion, when a plane leaves the runway.”
- freighter (noun) – an aircraft built to carry cargo instead of passengers. Typical use: “a large twin-engine freighter that carried packages for Amazon”.
- ground stop (noun phrase) – an order that stops aircraft from taking off or landing at an airport for a time. Typical use: “The FAA ordered a ground stop, so other planes could not land.”
- type rating (noun phrase) – official training and certification to fly a specific aircraft model. Typical use: “He had received his type rating on the Boeing 767.”
CEFR Level B1 / ICAO Level 4
For another story about a runway accident in Miami, see how a RED Air jet’s gear collapse sparked a runway fire.
