MIAMI — Federal investigators have recovered the flight data recorders from an Amazon-contracted cargo plane that veered off the runway at Miami International Airport on Sunday, triggering a catastrophic accident that left five people dead.
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair Jennifer Homendy confirmed Monday that the Boeing 767, operated by Miami-based 21 Air LLC, overran the runway by approximately 1,300 feet before coming to a violent stop. The aircraft, which had arrived from San Juan, Puerto Rico, plowed through a perimeter fence, striking a cleaning-services van on airport property before hitting an SUV on an adjacent public road. The jet eventually came to rest near an area housing autonomous vehicle fleets.
The human toll of the disaster has been described as “devastating.” According to officials, the victims were all occupants of the two vehicles struck by the plane. The cleaning van had been carrying seven people at the time of the impact, while the occupants of the SUV were also caught in the wreckage. Homendy declined to provide details regarding the status of the two pilots aboard the aircraft, noting only that authorities intend to interview the crew as part of the ongoing investigation.
“There’s debris everywhere,” Homendy said during a press briefing, describing the wreckage scattered across the site. “The Econoline van is torn apart. It certainly must have been devastating.”
Emergency responders remained at the scene throughout Monday, working in a complex environment that included pools of spilled jet fuel and significant structural damage to the perimeter infrastructure. Homendy emphasized that the primary focus of the operation remains the recovery of the victims to ensure they can be returned to their families. Because of this, she noted, a detailed examination of the aircraft’s airframe and internal components would be secondary to the humanitarian efforts currently underway.
The two recovered devices—the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder—have been transported to NTSB facilities for expert analysis. Investigators are expected to pore over the data to determine why the 1994 aircraft failed to stop on the runway during its third flight of the day.
The crash has had a massive ripple effect on operations at Florida’s busiest airport. Hundreds of flights were grounded or delayed as the incident forced a partial shutdown of airport facilities, creating chaos for travelers and forcing investigators to navigate a debris-strewn scene.
“The investigation and access to the aircraft as well as evidence can wait while the recovery operation goes forward,” Homendy stated. “That is most important, reuniting families with their loved ones.”
As the probe enters its second day, the NTSB is expected to coordinate with local authorities to piece together the final moments of the flight and identify the factors that led to the jet exiting the paved surface with such force.
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