• Audio reveals moments after Amazon plane crash
  • Five people lost their lives
  • Hundreds of flights were affected

New air traffic control recordings reveal the moments following the fatal crash of a cargo plane operating for Amazon Prime Air at Miami International Airport.

At least five people died and five others were injured after the Boeing 767-300 operating as 21 Air Flight 7598 veered off the runway on Sunday.

The aircraft had arrived from San Juan, Puerto Rico, when it crossed the airport perimeter, struck vehicles, and caught fire near a road.

The accident forced a temporary suspension of airport operations and demonstrated the severity of an emergency now under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Audio Reveals Moments After Amazon Plane Crash in Miami

Amazon Plane Crash Audio Reveals Chaos at Miami International Airport
Amazon Plane Crash Audio Reveals Chaos at Miami International Airport – Photo: Shutterstock

A LiveATC recording reviewed by Newsweek captured an air traffic controller explaining to the pilot of American Airlines Flight 1627 why operations had been suspended.

“So you know, the airport is currently in indefinite hold; apparently, an aircraft went off the runway and hit a vehicle on the perimeter road,” the controller said.

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The pilot asked whether the incident had occurred at Miami International Airport and received an immediate response: “1627, affirmative. It happened at Miami International Airport.”

Another audio recording obtained by CBS News captured a similar warning during the first moments of the emergency: “It seems that a plane has gone off the runway on 30.”

Amazon Cargo Plane Was Still Traveling at High Speed

The FAA confirmed that Flight 7598 “went off the runway after landing” and specified that it had departed from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in Puerto Rico.

Flightradar24 data indicate that the Boeing landed at approximately 1:53 p.m. after a flight of about two hours and 11 minutes from San Juan.

The aircraft was still traveling at approximately 129 mph, equivalent to 207 km/h, when it left the usable portion of Runway 30, according to tracking data.

Images taken afterward showed a large column of black smoke, flames surrounding the aircraft, and the Boeing overturned on its fuselage beside a road and several vehicles.

NTSB Details Boeing 767’s Chain of Impacts

NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy explained that the Amazon cargo plane first struck navigation aids and ground equipment before completely leaving the runway.

“The plane hit the navigation aids and equipment, and then a 2012 white Ford Econoline van,” Homendy said while describing the sequence.

The van belonged to Professional Ocean Service Corporation, an airline cleaning contractor, and was carrying seven people when it was struck.

The aircraft then crossed the perimeter fence and struck a Toyota Corolla Cross LE traveling on NW 67th Avenue, according to information provided by investigators.

 

Nearly 200 Rescuers Responded to Complex Emergency

Miami-Dade Fire Chief Ray Jadallah reported that the pilot and co-pilot were trapped inside the cockpit, while other people were trapped in the vehicles struck by the aircraft.

Nearly 200 emergency responders arrived at the scene and confronted intense flames, heavy smoke, and a subsequent fuel leak from the plane.

Firefighters used specialized foam to extinguish the fire, while rescue crews also worked to free a person trapped beneath a vehicle.

“You could feel the tremor, see the smoke, the flames,” truck driver Romierkys Rodríguez told NBC6 South Florida, adding that he heard “the crash, the explosion.”

 

Amazon Plane Crash Affected Hundreds of Flights

The emergency shut down runways and taxiways during one of the busiest air travel weekends because of Labor Day travel.

Although operations gradually resumed during Sunday, more than 160 flights had been canceled and nearly 325 delayed by the end of the day.

Amazon said it was “devastated” by the five deaths and expressed condolences to the victims’ families and everyone affected, while promising to cooperate with authorities throughout the investigation.

21 Air also said it was “devastated” and stated that its priorities were supporting those affected and cooperating with authorities as the NTSB worked to determine the accident’s cause, according to Newsweek and LiveATC.