Amazon Prime Air Boeing 767 Overruns Miami Runway; One Runway Reopens

MIAMI — A Boeing 767-300 freighter operated by 21 Air (2I) for Amazon Prime Air overran a runway at Miami International Airport (MIA) on Sunday, September 6, prompting an airport-wide closure and a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ground stop. In a 16:51 EDT update, the airport said one runway was open, while disruption continued.

Flight 7598 arrived from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU) in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and overran the runway after landing at approximately 14:00 EDT, according to the FAA. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said the aircraft struck multiple vehicles and caught fire. More than 60 units responded.

In its 15:25 EDT update, Fire Rescue said crews were extinguishing the fire and assessing patients. That statement did not give a patient count or describe their conditions.

MIA said the aircraft overran its diagonal runway and was disabled at the northwest end of the airport. Its initial public statement reported all runways and taxiways closed.

Diversions and Delays Continue

By 17:03 EDT, the FAA’s airport-status dashboard listed a ground-delay program for Miami, running from 17:00 EDT Sunday to 03:59 EDT Monday, September 7, because of the disabled aircraft. It showed an average program delay of 384 minutes, or six hours and 24 minutes.

A ground-delay program holds affected inbound flights at their departure airports and assigns arrival slots to match traffic with available capacity. Reopening a runway therefore does not mean normal flight schedules have resumed.

Tampa International Airport (TPA) received diverted traffic. FlightAware’s September 6 history showed American Airlines (AA) Flight 264 from Mexico City to Miami diverted to Tampa, where it arrived at 16:01 EDT.

FlightAware listed 278 delays and 88 cancellations at Miami when checked at 17:05 EDT. Those were airport-wide totals for Sunday; the page did not establish how many were attributable to the overrun. MIA advised travelers to check with their airline before heading to the airport.

In a recording shared with Airways by a passenger aboard Flight 264, the Captain said at 17:15 EDT that the aircraft would refuel in Tampa and was expected to depart within 50 minutes.

Authorities Gather Information

Flightradar24 identified the aircraft as registration N1997A. The FAA’s aircraft registry lists it as a Boeing 767-33A.

The FAA said it will investigate. The National Transportation Safety Board said it was gathering information about the occurrence. Neither agency’s statement reviewed for this report established a cause.

Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel confirmed that 21 Air operated the aircraft and said Amazon was working with local authorities to understand what happened and support those affected.