Amazon has paused its cargo operations with 21 Air after the carrier’s Boeing 767 overran a runway at Miami International Airport on Sept. 6, killing five people on the ground. Amazon says other carriers will cover the network gap while the NTSB investigates.
21 Air employed the crew and operated the aircraft for Amazon Air; Amazon contracted with the carrier and did not directly operate Flight 7598. The NTSB is examining the crew’s decisions, 21 Air’s safety practices and its arrangement with Amazon; investigators have not determined the probable cause. Preliminary flight data indicated a pilot warned the aircraft was moving too fast and the crew considered a go-around after touchdown. The aircraft did not deploy speed brakes or thrust reversers before overrunning the runway.
The Miami crash is the second fatal crash involving an Amazon-contracted cargo aircraft in seven years. An Atlas Air Boeing 767 operating for Amazon crashed in Texas in 2019, killing all three people aboard. The Wall Street Journal reported allegations by former 21 Air employees about safety reporting, training and management practices.
