[Stay on top of transportation news: Get TTNews in your inbox.]
Amazon suspends use of cargo carrier after fatal crash
NTSB investigates 21 Air operations
Workers inspect the Amazon cargo plane on Sept. 10 in Miami. (Marta Lavandier/AP)
Key Takeaways:
- Amazon suspended operations with 21 Air on Sept. 13 after a Boeing 767 carrying Amazon packages crashed after landing in Miami on Sept. 6.
- The plane overran the runway by about 1,300 feet and struck a workers’ van, killing five people and injuring five others.
- NTSB investigators are reviewing flight data, cockpit recordings, maintenance records, weather conditions and 21 Air operations as the probe continues.
MIAMI — Amazon said Sept. 13 that it has suspended its partnership with 21 Air after one of the cargo carrier's planes loaded with Amazon packages careened off a Miami runway last week and killed five people.
The Boeing 767 came in fast on Sept. 6 and then barreled roughly 1,300 feet past the end of the runway and smashed into a van carrying workers at a plane cleaning company. All five people who died were in the van. Five others were hurt.
READ MORE: Amazon Air crash puts outsourcing model in focus again
“After the tragic incident last weekend, we’ve spent time supporting the investigation and reviewing some of the surrounding circumstances, and we’ve decided to pause our operations with 21 Air, the operator of Flight 7598,” Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in a prepared statement. “We’ll continue working to support the investigation and everyone affected.”
The North Carolina carrier had flown packages for Amazon since 2024. The company didn't immediately respond Sept. 13 to a request for comment about Amazon's decision.
The jet’s ownership history, weather conditions at the airport, maintenance records and operations by 21 Air were expected to be reviewed by investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board.
Flight information released by the NTSB on Sept. 9 revealed one of the pilots warned his counterpart they were going too fast as they approached for landing and after touchdown.
Image
(Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg)
The cockpit audio recordings also captured a series of automated warnings from the plane about the speed of descent and the approaching terrain. The full transcript of the cockpit conversation won’t be released until later in the investigation.
The 32-year-old Boeing was originally built to carry passengers and flew for several airlines in foreign countries for more than two decades before being converted to a cargo plane in 2015, according to flight-tracking site Flightradar24.
Amazon ranks No. 1 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest logistics companies in North America and No. 1 on the TT Top 50 list of the largest global freight companies. It ranks No. 17 on the TT100 list of the largest private carriers in North America.
