Rescue Crews Climb Into Cargo Plane After It Overshoots Runway

Fire crews had to climb a ladder to reach the cockpit of an Amazon cargo jet after the aircraft skidded beyond a runway at Miami International Airport and slammed into vehicles on a busy road, leaving five people dead and five others injured.

Striking footage from the airport showed emergency responders working to access the Boeing 767-300, whose underside appeared blackened by fire, while fuel poured from a ruptured line near the rear of the aircraft.

The cargo plane had been arriving in Miami from San Juan, Puerto Rico, when it overshot the runway at about 2 p.m. Sunday and “struck multiple vehicles” on Northwest 42nd Avenue, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue told the Daily Mail.

Fire Chief Raied Jadallah said during a Sunday evening news briefing that crews reached the crash site within roughly 30 seconds of the emergency call and immediately discovered victims trapped inside their cars.

Responders also encountered the Boeing 767-300 engulfed in fire, with thick smoke and intense flames coming from the wreckage.

At least five people were killed in the tragedy, while three others remain in critical condition at a local trauma center.

Two others were also transported to the hospital with unspecified injuries. Authorities have not yet identified the deceased nor the victims taken to the hospital.

Federal investigators have since descended on the scene as they work to determine what may have caused the cargo plane to overshoot the runway.

But Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) spokeswoman Hannah Walden further confirmed to The New York Times that runways at Miami International Airport are not equipped with an Engineered Materials Arresting System – crushable concrete designed to bring planes that overshoot the runway safely to a stop.

The FAA has long recommended that airports install the system, which is ‘designed to slow the aircraft down at a rate such that it doesn’t create too much stress on the landing gear so that it decelerates at a steady pace,’ Michael Meyers, manager of FAA’s Airport Engineering Division, told Local 10 News in February.

‘EMAS does have a perfect record of saving all lives in every single incident that has occurred involving EMAS,’ he noted, adding that it is useful in South Florida, which ‘has some of the busiest airspace and aviation activity in the country.’

The product absorbs the weight of the aircraft and is designed for planes weighing more than 12,500 pounds.

‘It’s very similar to, like, riding from the parking lot onto the beach, into the sand,’ Runway Safe spokesperson Trip Thomas explained.

‘So you ride your bike on the parking lot, it’s really easy to go, and then you ride straight and even right into the sand, all sudden it becomes very difficult. There’s a lot of drag on the wheels and that’s exactly, essentially what’s happening here.’

The system came in useful last year when a small plane overran the runway in nearby Boca Raton, Florida, and the EMAS stopped the aircraft safely and prevented it from reaching the busy roadway just feet away. 

However, the FAA only requires EMAS for airports that do not have standard runway safety areas and as of February, only about 130 airports across the country have deployed the system.

The cargo plane involved in the fatal crash on Sunday, operated by North Carolina-based 21 Air, had been traveling at 129mph as it exited the ‘usable runway’ amid thunderstorms and gusting winds, according to data from flight tracking site FlightRadar 24.

It then came to a rest near a parking lot that services an Amazon warehouse and other businesses, with photos from the scene showing the plane largely intact behind two semitrucks. 

Automatic Dependent Surveillance broadcast data also shows the plane touched down on Runway 30 at about 167 knots, or about 192mph, and went off the runway at over 120mph.

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Meanwhile, Miami’s own Automated Surface Observation System reports that the plane had tailwinds of 20 knots to 30 knots amid thunderous conditions.

That data has led aviation attorney Robert A Clifford to believe the pilot involved in the crash ‘mistakenly or over-confidently’ decided to land the cargo plane with a tailwind instead of a headwind, which causes excessive touchdown speeds and leaves an inadequate distance for the airplane’s braking and reverse thrust systems. 

Investigators will now look into the pilot’s decision to land with such high tailwinds, said Clifford, whose firm represents 15 victims and their families who were killed or injured when a UPS cargo jet crashed shortly after takeoff last year. 

‘Certainly, the [National Transportation Safety Board] will examine that issue fully, along with the failure to declare an emergency,’ he said. ‘Also, to be examined, will be the performance of the engines to see if the reverse thrusters were properly deployed.’

Pablo Rojas, an aviation attorney in the Miami-area, also told the Miami Herald there are a number of details about the crash that stand out to him.

‘You can see it stops in this parking lot area with the landing gear collapsed,’ he said. ‘The nose is kind of dipping down. We don’t know if that’s something that happened late in the accident sequence or early enough to have caused the accident sequence.

‘You can imagine the incident being caused by something else and then the landing gear collapsing, but certainly if there was an issue with the landing gear early in the accident sequence, that’s going to be the first clue for investigators,’ he continued, adding that the investigators will also look at the stormy weather conditions.

‘A landing at an international airport is complex,’ Rojas declared. ‘The pilot needs to be communicating with air traffic control. Air traffic control needs to be minding the weather and communicating that with the pilot.

‘We know we’ve had rain in Miami recently. Air traffic control needs to help the pilot understand the condition of the runway,’ he said.

‘Planes can land in nasty weather, but obviously if the runway is slick, that can sometimes cause air traffic control to pause or stop landings for a period of time.’ 

Following the crash, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy issued a full ground stop at the airport. 

‘If you’re traveling through the area, please expect significant delays and potential cancellations,’ he posted on social media.

Miami International Airport has since reopened two of its four runways, but flights are still being impacted, with about 15 flights still canceled as of early Monday morning, according to FlightAware. 

As investigators now continue to probe what may have happened, a spokesperson for Amazon said it was ‘heartbroken to learn that five people lost their lives in today’s incident at Miami International Airport.

‘Our deepest condolences go out to the families, loved ones and all those affected by this devastating loss.’

‘We’re working closely with local authorities and officials to learn more and will cooperate fully with any investigation.’

21 Air CEO Keith Winters also said the crash left his company ‘devastated’ and that it is cooperating with federal investigators.

‘Our deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives,’ he said in a statement.

‘Our immediate priorities are supporting those affected, assisting the authorities and ensuring that accurate information is communicated as it becomes available.’ 

Investigators from both the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are now at the scene, with NTSB officials set to hold a news conference on the crash Monday.