Cargo plane that crashed in Miami was operated by a North Carolina company
The Amazon cargo plane that crashed at Miami International Airport in Florida on Sunday, killing five people on the ground, was operated by a Greensboro-based company.
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The Boeing 767-300 was arriving from San Juan, Puerto Rico, when it overshot a runway in Miami, smashed through a fence and hit a Ford Econoline van and a Toyota SUV just before about 2 p.m. Sunday. Air cargo company 21 Air operated the plane for Amazon Air.
Seven people were in the van, which carried workers for a company that cleans airplanes at the airport, according to Jennifer Homendy, chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board.
The pilot and co-pilot were rescued from the plane, but the extent of their injuries was not clear Sunday, according to the Miami Herald. Five people were sent to the hospital, three in critical condition, according to the Herald.
Keith Winters, 21 Air’s CEO, posted a statement saying the company is cooperating with federal investigators trying to determine what happened.
“We are devastated by the accident involving one of our aircraft in Miami today,” Winters wrote. ”Our deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives. Our immediate priorities are supporting those affected, assisting the authorities, and ensuring that accurate information is communicated as it becomes available.”
21 Air was founded in 2014 at Piedmont Triad International Airport. According to the New York Times, the airline flies primarily out of Miami and Cincinnati.
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The flight to Miami was the third of the day for the aircraft, Homendy of the NTSB said at a press briefing Monday. She said the plane began its day in Cincinnati, flew to Miami, then on to San Juan before returning to Miami.
Homendy said the NTSB had recovered the flight data and voice data recorders from the plane and would send them to Washington to be analyzed. She said the agency would release more information Tuesday.
The plane that crashed was 32 years old and was owned by a New York-based leasing company, Andromeda Leasing II, according to FlightAware. Homendy said the NTSB will look at the age and ownership history of the plane, as well as how it was operated by 21 Air for Amazon.
“We’re going to want to see what that relationship is,” she said. “Who does what? What safety provisions might be in any sort of contracts or any sort of policies, and then we’ll see from there.”
This story was originally published September 7, 2026 at 9:20 AM with the headline “Cargo plane that crashed in Miami was operated by a North Carolina company.”
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