NTSB Recovers Black Boxes From Amazon Cargo Plane After Crash at Miami Airport

Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have recovered both the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder from an Amazon Prime Air cargo plane that overran a runway at Miami International Airport on Sunday afternoon.

The 32-year-old Boeing 767-300, operated by 21 Air LLC, was completing its third flight of the day from San Juan, Puerto Rico, when it overshot the runway around 1:53 p.m. local time. The aircraft traveled approximately 1,300 feet past the end of the paved area, crashing through a perimeter fence and colliding with two vehicles: a contract cleaning company Ford Econoline van carrying seven passengers and a Toyota SUV driving along an adjacent road outside the airport property.

Five people on the ground were killed in the crash, while five others sustained injuries, three of them critically. Both crew members aboard the aircraft survived the impact and are awaiting formal interviews with federal investigators.

NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy described the crash site as a scene of "utter devastation" and noted that victim recovery remains the primary focus:

"It's hard to see, and I'm sure very difficult for the first responders as well…The investigation and access to the aircraft, as well as evidence, can wait."

Both black boxes were dispatched to NTSB headquarters in Washington, D.C., for analysis. The federal safety team is examining multiple factors, including crew experience, mechanical performance, aircraft braking, radar logs, and local weather patterns. Active thunderstorms and wind gusts up to 26 knots were logged near the airfield around the time of the landing attempt.

A major focus of the probe involves evaluating where the plane made contact with the runway. Aviation experts noted that video footage indicates the jet floated beyond the standard 3,000-foot landing zone before touching down, rather than executing a go-around maneuver. Additionally, investigators will assess whether an Engineered Materials Arresting System (EMAS), which are specialized crushable concrete blocks installed at runway ends to stop overrunning aircraft, should have been present.

Two of the airport's four runways remained closed while response teams cleared fuel and debris, causing ongoing flight disruptions following hundreds of cancellations during the busy Labor Day holiday weekend.