Amazon announced Sunday that it has suspended its partnership with cargo carrier 21 Air following a tragic accident last week where one of its planes overshot a runway at Miami International Airport, resulting in five deaths. The Boeing 767, which was carrying Amazon packages, approached the airport at a high speed on September 6, barreling roughly 1,300 feet past the end of the runway before crashing into a van carrying workers from a plane cleaning company. All five fatalities occurred within the van, while five additional individuals sustained injuries. Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel stated that following the incident, the company spent time supporting the investigation and reviewing surrounding circumstances before deciding to pause operations with 21 Air, the operator of Flight 7598. North Carolina-based 21 Air had handled package deliveries for Amazon since 2024 and did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the suspension. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board are reviewing the aircraft’s ownership history, maintenance records, weather conditions, and the carrier’s operations. Flight information released by the NTSB on September 9 indicated that one pilot warned the other about excessive speed during the approach and after touchdown. Furthermore, cockpit audio recordings captured automated warnings concerning descent speed and approaching terrain, though the complete transcript will be withheld until a later stage of the investigation. Flight-tracking data reveals that the 32-year-old Boeing aircraft originally served as a passenger plane for various international airlines for over twenty years before undergoing conversion into a cargo freighter in 2015.
Source: npr.org
