The Catch.A permanent record of checked claims
SeriesThe Miami cargo crashSeptember 6, 2026

Miami International Airport · September 6, 2026

A cargo jet overran Miami's runway, struck vehicles, and killed five people on the ground

The FAA named the flight 21 Air 7598, a Boeing 767-300 arriving from San Juan. Fire crews found the plane beyond the airport boundary on fire. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating and has not given a cause.

The storyJust the factsShow the work
5 deadall in one van, named by the sheriff Tuesday
5 injuredtwo pilots released, three still in hospital Tuesday
759821 Air flight, from San Juan
2 of 4 runwaysopen Sunday evening

Story updated 2026-09-09.

This story rests on the FAA's written accident statement, official posts from the FAA, the NTSB, Miami International Airport, and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, the operator's statement, Amazon's update page, a C-SPAN transcript of the Monday briefing, the NTSB's investigation page and docket, the FAA's airport data for Runway 30, the FAA's safety magazine, Flightradar24's tracking post, the airport's weather observation, the sheriff's Tuesday identifications as reported by Local 10 and the Associated Press, the FAA's own pages on arresting beds, a CBS News investigation of the operator's earlier safety complaints, and coverage checked against those records.

Sunday afternoon

What happened

The Federal Aviation Administration's written statement on aviation accidents, dated September 6, says 21 Air Flight 7598 overran the runway after landing at Miami International Airport around 2 p.m. local time. It identifies the airplane as a Boeing 767-300 cargo aircraft that had departed Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and says the FAA will investigate.15

The FAA's aviation-accidents page carries a September 6 entry that names the flight, the airplane, San Juan, and the 2 p.m. landing. The same words appear in the FAA's Sunday post on X.151

  • The FAA's aviation-accidents page carries a September 6 entry that names the flight, the airplane, San Juan, and the 2 p.m. landing. The same words appear in the FAA's Sunday post on X.151

Miami International Airport, posting as the Miami-Dade Aviation Department's airport account, said Prime Air Flight 7598 overran the airport's diagonal runway at about 2 p.m., leaving the aircraft disabled at the northwest end. All runways and taxiways were closed, and a full ground stop was in effect.5

The airport used the Prime Air flight number. The FAA used 21 Air. Those are two names for the same landing: a cargo flight flown for Amazon's air network by 21 Air, a cargo airline.51510

  • The airport used the Prime Air flight number. The FAA used 21 Air. Those are two names for the same landing: a cargo flight flown for Amazon's air network by 21 Air, a cargo airline.51510

At 3:25 p.m., Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said more than 60 of its units were on scene of a plane that overran a runway and struck multiple vehicles. Crews found an airplane on fire, with heavy flames and smoke.8

By 6:25 p.m. the department said it had received the call at 1:55 p.m. More than 60 units and about 200 personnel responded. The plane had stopped beyond the airport operational boundary. Firefighters used airport foam on a complex engine-compartment fire, shut down the aircraft's engine, and worked a fuel leak. One person trapped under a vehicle was extricated. Five patients were taken to local hospitals.9

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said at a news conference Sunday evening that five people were dead and five were injured. ABC News recorded that statement. The fire department's own Sunday posts do not give a death count.33

On Monday the mayor's office issued its own release. Levine Cava wrote that she had spoken directly with NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy ahead of Homendy's briefing at the airport, which the mayor attended. She thanked Miami-Dade Fire Rescue teams who, she wrote, responded in less than 30 seconds to extinguish the fire and care for the injured, and she noted assistance to stranded passengers.19

  • 19Miami-Dade mayor's Monday releaseour Miami-Dade Fire Rescue teams, who responded to the scene in less than 30 seconds to extinguish the fire and care for the injured

The National Transportation Safety Board said it had launched a go team for a runway excursion involving a Boeing 767-300 cargo airplane operated as 21 Air Flight 7598 from San Juan to Miami. Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy would be the board member on scene. A media briefing was set for Monday.2

The NTSB's investigation page, as of Tuesday, gives the case the number DCA26MA352 and lists its status as ongoing. It says 21 Air LLC Flight 7598, a Boeing 767-33A, overran the end of Runway 30 during landing, and that the flight was a cargo flight from San Juan flown under Part 121, the federal rules that govern scheduled airlines. The public docket, where the NTSB posts interview summaries and recorder reports, has not been released.2223

  • 22NTSB investigation pageFlight was a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121 cargo flight from San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU) to MIA.Status: Ongoing
  • 23NTSB docket pageThe docket for this investigation has not been released.

21 Air, on its website, said it was devastated by the accident involving one of its aircraft in Miami on September 6. Chief executive Keith Winters wrote that the company was cooperating with the NTSB, the FAA, and local authorities, and that the circumstances were under investigation. The statement acknowledges people who lost their lives. It does not give a number.10

  • 1021 Air statementWe are devastated by the accident involving one of our aircraft in Miami on 09/06.

Amazon's company-news page holds two statements from spokesperson Kelly Nantel. At 1:58 p.m. Pacific time she confirmed "an Amazon Air plane operated by 21 Air" had an incident while attempting to land. At 3:05 p.m. Pacific time she wrote that five people had lost their lives, and that the airplane, operated by 21 Air, was attempting to land when the incident occurred.17

  • 17Amazon update pageThe airplane, which was operated by 21 Air, was attempting to land when this incident occurred.

Amazon News posted the earlier 1:58 p.m. Pacific statement on X the same afternoon.12

  • 12Amazon News statementWe can confirm that an Amazon Air plane operated by 21 Air experienced an incident while attempting to land at Miami International Airport today.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wrote that a full ground stop was in effect at Miami International while first responders assessed the scene, and that people traveling through the area should expect delays and possible cancellations. He said FAA inspectors would investigate.13

  • 13Secretary Duffy on the ground stopWe’ve issued a full ground stop at Miami International while first responders assess the scene after an Amazon cargo plane overran the runway.

Flightradar24's incident post names the airplane as registration N1997A. The FAA aircraft registry lists N1997A as a Boeing 767-33A, serial 27310, registered to Andromeda Leasing II LLC of Purchase, New York.4129

  • Flightradar24's incident post names the airplane as registration N1997A. The FAA aircraft registry lists N1997A as a Boeing 767-33A, serial 27310, registered to Andromeda Leasing II LLC of Purchase, New York.4129

Where 21 Air sits depends on who is describing it. Homendy called it 21 Air LLC based in Miami, and the Reuters dispatch on her briefing called it Miami-based. CBS, in its Tuesday story on the company, called it a North Carolina company. No corporate filing in this story's records settles the question, and the CBS story names no city in North Carolina. What is not in dispute is that the Transportation Department certified 21 Air in 2016 for foreign charter cargo.16484720

  • Where 21 Air sits depends on who is describing it. Homendy called it 21 Air LLC based in Miami, and the Reuters dispatch on her briefing called it Miami-based. CBS, in its Tuesday story on the company, called it a North Carolina company. No corporate filing in this story's records settles the question, and the CBS story names no city in North Carolina. What is not in dispute is that the Transportation Department certified 21 Air in 2016 for foreign charter cargo.16484720

The airplane was 32 years old. Flightradar24 says it flew for various airlines as a passenger carrier from 1994 to 2015, when it was converted to cargo configuration, and the FAA registry gives the same manufacture year. Asked at the briefing about the airplane's age, Homendy said she believed it was manufactured in 1994 and that age and ownership history are always looked at. Reuters described it as a 32-year-old Boeing 767-33A. Age by itself is not evidence of an unsafe aircraft: airliners are maintained on a schedule rather than retired on a birthday, and nothing has been published about this airplane's condition. What the age and the conversion do is name records investigators will read, which is the maintenance history, the conversion paperwork, and the write-ups from the earlier flights that day.41291648

  • The airplane was 32 years old. Flightradar24 says it flew for various airlines as a passenger carrier from 1994 to 2015, when it was converted to cargo configuration, and the FAA registry gives the same manufacture year. Asked at the briefing about the airplane's age, Homendy said she believed it was manufactured in 1994 and that age and ownership history are always looked at. Reuters described it as a 32-year-old Boeing 767-33A. Age by itself is not evidence of an unsafe aircraft: airliners are maintained on a schedule rather than retired on a birthday, and nothing has been published about this airplane's condition. What the age and the conversion do is name records investigators will read, which is the maintenance history, the conversion paperwork, and the write-ups from the earlier flights that day.41291648

The afternoon, in order

Where this sits

The airport's first public post closed every runway and taxiway. Later Sunday it said one runway was open, then two of four, with delays still in effect. Passengers were told to check with their airline before coming to the airport.567

That sequence is the operational story of the day: a full stop after the overrun, then a partial reopening while wreckage, fuel, and the investigation still occupied the northwest end of the field.79

  • That sequence is the operational story of the day: a full stop after the overrun, then a partial reopening while wreckage, fuel, and the investigation still occupied the northwest end of the field.79

On Monday the NTSB identified the runway as Runway 30 and the operator as 21 Air LLC Flight 7598.4

Homendy said the airplane traveled about 1,300 feet past the paved surface. CBS, Reuters, and CNBC all carried the figure from that one briefing. That is 396 meters, converting 1,300 feet at 0.3048 meters per foot and rounding to the nearest meter.1637

how 396 meters was computed

1,300 feet times 0.3048 meters per foot equals 396.24 meters, rounded to 396. The 1,300-foot figure is Homendy's, in the C-SPAN transcript of the Monday briefing; the three outlets that carried it are one lineage from that briefing, not three confirmations. The NTSB's own saved posts do not include the distance.

At 1:53 p.m. Eastern, the time Homendy gave for the accident, the airport's own weather observation reported a thunderstorm, wind from the south at 17 knots gusting to 26, a peak gust of 26 knots one minute earlier, and a wind shift at 1:37 p.m. The NTSB has not said weather played a part.2816

how that observation was read

Saved NOAA aviation-weather METAR for KMIA, line beginning METAR KMIA 061753Z. 1753Z is 1:53 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on September 6. 19017G26KT is wind from 190 degrees at 17 knots, gusting 26. TS is thunderstorm. PK WND 18026/1752 is a peak wind of 26 knots from 180 degrees at 1752Z. WSHFT 1737 is a wind shift at 1737Z, 1:37 p.m. Eastern. The line was saved on September 8 from a 72-hour request that still held the September 6 observation.

Miles O'Brien, PBS NewsHour's aviation correspondent, described the public video as a landing with a tailwind that also had a crosswind component, at about 185 miles an hour, about halfway down a 9,000-foot runway, and said a go-around would have been the move once the airplane was floating halfway down. Mary Schiavo, a pilot and former Transportation Department inspector general, told CNBC the video shows the plane floating above the runway without flaring; she said it was not raining, with dark storm clouds and strong winds reported. CBS, covering Homendy, said the NTSB team would include groups for meteorology and aircraft performance. The NTSB has not said any of this. O'Brien and Schiavo are two separate readings of the same public video; Schiavo's words reached CNBC through an Associated Press dispatch, so AP and CNBC are one source for her, not two.42434037

  • Miles O'Brien, PBS NewsHour's aviation correspondent, described the public video as a landing with a tailwind that also had a crosswind component, at about 185 miles an hour, about halfway down a 9,000-foot runway, and said a go-around would have been the move once the airplane was floating halfway down. Mary Schiavo, a pilot and former Transportation Department inspector general, told CNBC the video shows the plane floating above the runway without flaring; she said it was not raining, with dark storm clouds and strong winds reported. CBS, covering Homendy, said the NTSB team would include groups for meteorology and aircraft performance. The NTSB has not said any of this. O'Brien and Schiavo are two separate readings of the same public video; Schiavo's words reached CNBC through an Associated Press dispatch, so AP and CNBC are one source for her, not two.42434037

Halfway down a 9,000-foot runway, in O'Brien's phrase, needs a denominator. The FAA's airport data lists Runway 30 at 9,360 feet of pavement, but only 7,913 feet of that is declared available for landing. Halfway down the pavement and halfway down the landing distance are about 700 feet apart.4225

  • Halfway down a 9,000-foot runway, in O'Brien's phrase, needs a denominator. The FAA's airport data lists Runway 30 at 9,360 feet of pavement, but only 7,913 feet of that is declared available for landing. Halfway down the pavement and halfway down the landing distance are about 700 feet apart.4225

Two speed records are now public, and they measure different things. Flightradar24, reading the airplane's own broadcast position data, put it at 112 knots as it left the usable runway and 69 knots at the last point received; its post does not say whether that is speed over the ground or through the air. The NTSB's September 9 update reads groundspeed from the flight data recorder: 158 knots when the nose and right main gear touched down, 117 knots eleven seconds before the recording ended, 96 knots seven seconds before, and 65 knots at the end. O'Brien's 185 miles an hour describes touchdown; the recorder's 158 knots is 182 miles an hour.412742

  • Two speed records are now public, and they measure different things. Flightradar24, reading the airplane's own broadcast position data, put it at 112 knots as it left the usable runway and 69 knots at the last point received; its post does not say whether that is speed over the ground or through the air. The NTSB's September 9 update reads groundspeed from the flight data recorder: 158 knots when the nose and right main gear touched down, 117 knots eleven seconds before the recording ended, 96 knots seven seconds before, and 65 knots at the end. O'Brien's 185 miles an hour describes touchdown; the recorder's 158 knots is 182 miles an hour.412742

The precedent that shares the customer is not the precedent that shares the mechanism. On February 23, 2019, Atlas Air Flight 3591, a Boeing 767 flying cargo for Amazon, crashed near Houston after leaving Miami: a different operator, a different phase of flight, and a different cause. The NTSB's closer file is its May 2026 report on runway overruns, drawn from 11 overruns between 2008 and 2022 in which airplanes landed on wet runways and stopped later than their braking assumptions predicted. Whether Runway 30 was wet at 1:53 p.m. is not established: the airport observation reported a thunderstorm, and Schiavo, watching the video, said it was not raining.21262843

  • The precedent that shares the customer is not the precedent that shares the mechanism. On February 23, 2019, Atlas Air Flight 3591, a Boeing 767 flying cargo for Amazon, crashed near Houston after leaving Miami: a different operator, a different phase of flight, and a different cause. The NTSB's closer file is its May 2026 report on runway overruns, drawn from 11 overruns between 2008 and 2022 in which airplanes landed on wet runways and stopped later than their braking assumptions predicted. Whether Runway 30 was wet at 1:53 p.m. is not established: the airport observation reported a thunderstorm, and Schiavo, watching the video, said it was not raining.21262843

People on the ground, and people in the air

Who feels it

Homendy said Monday, in the C-SPAN transcript of the briefing, that the airplane overran Runway 30, struck navigational aids, then hit a 2012 white Ford Econoline van owned by Professional Ocean Service Corporation, a contract cleaning company, with seven people inside, on airport property. The airplane then went through a perimeter fence and hit a Toyota Corolla Cross LE on Northwest 67th Avenue. CBS, quoting Homendy, said everyone killed was in those two vehicles. Reuters reported that she said the two people on the airplane survived and had not yet been interviewed.163738

Sunday night that was not yet known. Miami officials told reporters it was too soon to say whether the dead were on the airplane or in the vehicles. The fire chief said the pilot and copilot had been trapped in the cockpit. By Monday Homendy's account put the deaths in the two vehicles and the two crew on the airplane among the living.363438

  • Sunday night that was not yet known. Miami officials told reporters it was too soon to say whether the dead were on the airplane or in the vehicles. The fire chief said the pilot and copilot had been trapped in the cockpit. By Monday Homendy's account put the deaths in the two vehicles and the two crew on the airplane among the living.363438

On Tuesday morning Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz named the dead. All five were in the van: Rolando Aleman Leon, 55; Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo, 53; Julio C. Pineda, 75; Carlos Acosta Fajardo, 53; and Javierkys Reyes Quevedo, 47. The sheriff's office named the three people still in hospital as Eugenio Corredor, in critical condition; Ridoel Averhoff Diaz, 32, in critical condition; and Roosevelt Sebastian Perdomo Torres, 36, in stable condition. The two pilots, Jaime Felipe Silva Molina, 37, and Joseph Carol, 55, had minor injuries and were released.45

  • 45Local 10, September 8Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz identified the five dead who were traveling in the Econoline van as Rolando Aleman Leon, 55; Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo, 53; Julio C. Pineda, 75; Carlos Acosta Fajardo, 53; and Javierkys Reyes Quevedo, 47.MDSO identified the pilots as Jaime Felipe Silva Molina, 37, and Joseph Carol, 55, who both suffered minor injuries.

The Associated Press, reporting the same briefing Tuesday, said the five were all in a van owned by Professional Ocean Service Corporation, the cleaning company Homendy had named, and that the company would not comment out of respect for the families. AP's story carries a correction: an earlier version misspelled Rodriguez Naranjo's last name because the sheriff's news release had it wrong. The sheriff's count of seven people in the van, the three in hospital, and the driver of the Toyota on Northwest 67th Avenue do not yet add up to a public list of who was in which vehicle.46

  • 46Associated Press, September 8The five people killed were all in a van owned by Professional Ocean Service Corp., a company that cleans planes.an earlier version of this story misspelled the last name of victim Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo

Fire rescue took five patients to hospitals Sunday. CBS, quoting the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office, said two of the injured were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital and the other three to Jackson's Ryder Trauma Center in critical condition. NBC, quoting Fire Chief Raied Jadallah, had said Sunday that three were in critical condition at a trauma center and two went to a local hospital. By Tuesday one of the three had been listed as stable and the two pilots had gone home. The five injured are not five more people beyond the five dead, and they are not all people on the ground: Reuters reported five injured, three of them critically, and by Tuesday that count resolves into the 2 pilots plus the 3 people still in hospital.948373445

Travelers through Miami spent Sunday under a ground stop, then a partial reopening with two of four runways open. The Associated Press, citing FlightAware, wrote that more than 160 flights were canceled and nearly 325 delayed by late Sunday. USA Today, writing Monday during the Labor Day travel rush and also citing FlightAware, wrote that at least 55 flights had been cancelled and more than 100 others delayed.74044

The airport's homepage, as of September 8, still said two of four runways remained closed, that cancellations continued because aircraft and crews had not arrived, and that passengers with flights that day should check with their airline before heading to the airport.18

Before this flight

The operator's safety history

Homendy said Monday that the investigation would look at 21 Air's own policies and procedures, the contract with Amazon, and the FAA's oversight of both. On Tuesday CBS News published an account of the operator's record before this flight, drawn from legal documents and interviews.1647

  • Homendy said Monday that the investigation would look at 21 Air's own policies and procedures, the contract with Amazon, and the FAA's oversight of both. On Tuesday CBS News published an account of the operator's record before this flight, drawn from legal documents and interviews.1647

On the record in a legal proceeding. Karl Seuring, a 21 Air pilot, filed a complaint saying he was fired for raising safety concerns. His appeal led to a 2023 Department of Labor tribunal, a hearing before a federal judge, and CBS reports the case is still pending. In that proceeding a former 21 Air chief pilot, Bruce Joseph, testified in March 2024 that he had "personal knowledge of people being discouraged" from logging safety concerns in the company system. He testified that the then-director of safety told him "don't put anything" in the safety software before speaking to the chief executive, and that asked whether reports eventually got filed he answered: "Most of it did not." Seuring's attorney told the judge that another pilot "was being pressured to fly in periods of time that were too short to comply with the proper amounts of rest, and that implicated safety."47

What former employees allege. These are allegations by named people, not findings by anyone. CBS reports that "Seuring and other former 21 Air pilots claimed managers suppressed safety reports, pushed crew to fly without proper rest, staffed pilots who could not communicate safely in English, and put faulty planes in the sky, documents show." Seuring told CBS: "We've had fuel leak issues. We've had radar problems and circuit breakers, smoke in the cockpit." He added that "Pilots were coached on how the write-ups should be done." A retired 21 Air pilot, Tony Bless, who testified in Seuring's case, "claimed the company would routinely defer maintenance, and that things would often go wrong on its aging converted passenger planes." Don Helmig, a former fighter pilot who had been reviewing safety policy for the company, resigned in June 2021 in an email to the owner saying that in his opinion what the company wished him to do was to "say nothing, but that is not how Safety is supposed to operate, by paying 'lip service to SMS' [Safety Management Systems] then doing exactly nothing."47

  • 4721 Air, operator of plane in Miami crash, had prior safety complaints by former employeesSeuring and other former 21 Air pilots claimed managers suppressed safety reports, pushed crew to fly without proper rest, staffed pilots who could not communicate safely in English, and put faulty planes in the sky, documents show.We've had fuel leak issues. We've had radar problems and circuit breakers, smoke in the cockpitPilots were coached on how the write-ups should be done.claimed the company would routinely defer maintenance, and that things would often go wrong on its aging converted passenger planessay nothing, but that is not how Safety is supposed to operate, by paying 'lip service to SMS' [Safety Management Systems] then doing exactly nothing.

The denials, and what OSHA did. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration rejected Seuring's complaint over the firing he called retaliatory; the tribunal exists because he appealed that rejection. Mike Mendez, 21 Air's chief executive at the time, testified that Joseph "was fired from 21 Air and left under very bad circumstances" and that he believed the former chief pilot was inventing damaging claims. Mendez denied retaliation and testified: "My responsibility is to make sure we run a safe airline, not to hurt people and not to hide anything." A former fleet manager Seuring named, Amir Anoshiravani, denied the incident described and told CBS he had "never come in contact" with Seuring. 21 Air did not answer CBS's requests for comment; its own website carries the statement that it is devastated by the accident and cooperating with the investigation.4710

What nobody has established is a link between any of that and this landing. CBS says so in its own story: "It is not known whether past safety issues had any connection to the Sunday incident in Miami." The NTSB has published no probable cause, has released nothing from the recorders, and said Monday it would not determine cause while still on scene. What the history does establish is that the policies Homendy said the board will examine have been contested before, by named people, in a proceeding that has not finished.4716

  • What nobody has established is a link between any of that and this landing. CBS says so in its own story: "It is not known whether past safety issues had any connection to the Sunday incident in Miami." The NTSB has published no probable cause, has released nothing from the recorders, and said Monday it would not determine cause while still on scene. What the history does establish is that the policies Homendy said the board will examine have been contested before, by named people, in a proceeding that has not finished.4716

Who controls 21 Air, and what Amazon says. CBS reports that "The cargo airline hired by Amazon, 21 Air, is controlled by Houston Astros owner Jim Crane through an LLC," and that the 2021 resignation email went to Crane as majority owner. Asked about the allegations, an Amazon spokesperson told CBS: "We'll defer to the NTSB regarding the circumstances of their investigation and to 21 Air regarding these allegations that pre-date our relationship with the company."47

  • 4721 Air, operator of plane in Miami crash, had prior safety complaints by former employeesThe cargo airline hired by Amazon, 21 Air, is controlled by Houston Astros owner Jim Crane through an LLC.Former fighter pilot Don Helmig wrote a resignation email to 21 Air majority owner Jim Crane in June 2021We'll defer to the NTSB regarding the circumstances of their investigation and to 21 Air regarding these allegations that pre-date our relationship with the company.

That answer leaves the oversight questions open, and they are open, not implied. When Amazon checked the company before or during the relationship, and whether that check reached the Labor Department case, is not public. Which side of the contract controlled maintenance and which controlled crew scheduling is not public; Homendy said the board wants to see who does what and what safety provisions the contract carries. Whether delivery requirements shaped how the flying was done is not public. What audit rights or termination provisions the contract carries is not public. No document answering any of those is in any record this story cites.4716

  • That answer leaves the oversight questions open, and they are open, not implied. When Amazon checked the company before or during the relationship, and whether that check reached the Labor Department case, is not public. Which side of the contract controlled maintenance and which controlled crew scheduling is not public; Homendy said the board wants to see who does what and what safety provisions the contract carries. Whether delivery requirements shaped how the flying was done is not public. What audit rights or termination provisions the contract carries is not public. No document answering any of those is in any record this story cites.4716

The coverage

What the coverage got right, and what it got wrong

Sunday's coverage was checked against the FAA, airport, fire, and NTSB posts. Monday's briefing details were checked first against the C-SPAN transcript of what Homendy said, then against CBS, Reuters, and CNBC. Tuesday's identifications were checked against Local 10's report of the sheriff's briefing and the Associated Press. Two things to know about the coverage list: PBS's Sunday story is Associated Press copy under AP bylines, and CNBC's Monday story repeats AP's Mary Schiavo quotation and AP's arresting-bed sentence word for word.15163643

  • Sunday's coverage was checked against the FAA, airport, fire, and NTSB posts. Monday's briefing details were checked first against the C-SPAN transcript of what Homendy said, then against CBS, Reuters, and CNBC. Tuesday's identifications were checked against Local 10's report of the sheriff's briefing and the Associated Press. Two things to know about the coverage list: PBS's Sunday story is Associated Press copy under AP bylines, and CNBC's Monday story repeats AP's Mary Schiavo quotation and AP's arresting-bed sentence word for word.15163643

ABC quoted the FAA statement on flight 7598, the Boeing 767-300, San Juan, and the 2 p.m. landing. That matches the FAA's written statement. It quoted Mayor Levine Cava on five dead and five injured. It quoted Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel naming 21 Air as the operator.3315

NBC matched the FAA on the flight number, type, origin, and time. It quoted Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz on Runway 30 and vehicles, and Jadallah on three people in critical condition, two others hospitalized, a complex engine fire, and the crew trapped in the airplane. Those quotes are the outlet's record of Sunday's local briefing; they are not in the fire department's own posts.349

NPR quoted the FAA and the Miami-Dade Aviation Department in line with the agencies' own posts. It quoted the sheriff saying the plane was "operated by Amazon." The FAA's written statement names 21 Air. Amazon's spokesperson, in the same NPR story, said 21 Air was flying it.3515

CBS, after Monday's briefing, reported Homendy on Runway 30, the third flight of the day, 1,300 feet past the pavement, the 2012 van and the Toyota, two crew on board, and both recorders recovered. The van year checks out against the transcript. Reuters reports the same core facts. CNBC matches on distance and vehicles and is wrong on the van year.37163839

The Associated Press, writing Monday morning before the briefing, still said it was not clear whether the pilots survived. Homendy's briefing later that day, as reported by Reuters, said the two people on the airplane survived. AP's Sunday injury split (three critical, two less severe) matches NBC's quote of Jadallah. AP's count of more than 160 cancellations and nearly 325 delays, attributed to FlightAware, is a single-outlet operational count with a timestamp: late Sunday. AP's sentence that arresting beds are "installed at more than 120 airports" is wrong on the unit: the FAA counts 122 beds at 70 airports. AP's Tuesday story, after the sheriff's briefing, has the names, the van, the pilots' release, and more than 225 cancellations over two days.4038402446

Local 10, the Miami ABC affiliate, carried the sheriff's Tuesday identifications with ages, the two pilots' release, and the three hospital conditions. Its names match AP's, including the corrected spelling of Rodriguez Naranjo. It also reported two of four runways still closed Tuesday.4546

  • 45Local 10, September 8Rolando Aleman Leon, 55; Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo, 53; Julio C. Pineda, 75; Carlos Acosta Fajardo, 53; and Javierkys Reyes Quevedo, 47
  • 46Associated Press, September 8Rolando Aleman Leon, 55; Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo, 53; Julio C. Pineda, 75; Carlos Acosta Fajardo, 53; and Javierkys Reyes Quevedo, 47

One claim, examined

Claim checked against the record

The claim: this was an "Amazon cargo plane," as the transportation secretary and most headlines put it, sometimes written as operated by Amazon. The record: three different relationships to one airplane. The FAA registry lists the owner as Andromeda Leasing II LLC. The FAA named 21 Air Flight 7598 and the NTSB named 21 Air LLC as the operator; Homendy, on the transcript, called it Amazon Air Flight 7598, a Boeing 767-33 Alpha, operated by 21 Air LLC based in Miami. 21 Air's own page calls it one of its aircraft. Amazon's spokesperson said an Amazon Air plane operated by 21 Air.132915101617

So "Amazon cargo plane" checks out as shorthand for whose cargo it carried: Amazon's, on Amazon's flight number. It would be wrong as a statement of who flew it. NPR quoted the sheriff saying the plane was "operated by Amazon"; that skips the airline the FAA and NTSB named, and Homendy said the investigation would look at the contract between the two. Amazon's own spokesperson kept both names.35221617

  • So "Amazon cargo plane" checks out as shorthand for whose cargo it carried: Amazon's, on Amazon's flight number. It would be wrong as a statement of who flew it. NPR quoted the sheriff saying the plane was "operated by Amazon"; that skips the airline the FAA and NTSB named, and Homendy said the investigation would look at the contract between the two. Amazon's own spokesperson kept both names.35221617

A second claim: the van's model year. Homendy said "2012 white Ford Econoline van." CBS wrote 2012; that checks out. CNBC wrote "2021 white Ford Econoline van." That is wrong.163739

Monday to Wednesday

What happened next

The NTSB held a media briefing at 4 p.m. Eastern on Monday at Miami International Airport, Concourse J. C-SPAN recorded that briefing and carries a transcript of it.316

Homendy said the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder had been recovered and were going to NTSB headquarters. She described the scene as "utter devastation." She said investigators would look at flight-crew experience and training, 21 Air policies, the contractual relationship with Amazon, and FAA oversight of the operators involved. She said they would not determine probable cause while still on scene.16

  • 16C-SPAN transcript of the NTSB briefingUtter devastationthe flight crew experience, training. 21 Air LLC policies and procedures, their relationship, the contractual relationship with Amazon. We'll also look at FAA oversight of all involved operators

After the briefing the NTSB posted a photograph of investigators on the wreckage field, naming Runway 30 and 21 Air LLC Flight 7598.4

Monday morning the airport said two of four runways remained closed, and that cancellations from Sunday were still leaving aircraft and crews short.14

On Wednesday, September 9, the NTSB published a written investigative update, its first written document on this accident, with what both recorders hold. It marks everything in it preliminary and subject to change, and it says the two recorders' clocks have not been precisely synchronized. Every time below counts backward to the end of that recorder's tape.27

  • On Wednesday, September 9, the NTSB published a written investigative update, its first written document on this accident, with what both recorders hold. It marks everything in it preliminary and subject to change, and it says the two recorders' clocks have not been precisely synchronized. Every time below counts backward to the end of that recorder's tape.27

Both recorders were read out at the NTSB's laboratory in Washington. The cockpit voice recorder holds more than 2 hours of good audio on four channels; the flight data recorder holds about 54 hours and more than 400 parameters. A voice-recorder group will meet at headquarters to produce a written transcript.27

  • 27NTSB investigative update, September 9successfully read outThe CVR contained more than 2 hours of good quality audio across four channels.The FDR contained approximately 54 hours of data and recorded more than 400 parameters.produce a written transcript

From the cockpit voice recorder, in the NTSB's words, counting back to the end of the recording.27

  • From the cockpit voice recorder, in the NTSB's words, counting back to the end of the recording.27
  • 4 minutes 18 seconds: the crew checked in with Miami tower and was cleared to land on Runway 30.27
  • 1 minute 42 seconds: a pilot called for flaps 20, and the other pilot cautioned they were too fast, then kept commenting on the airplane's excessive speed for the rest of the recording. The update says there was not a consistent verbal response to those comments.27
  • 1 minute 23 seconds: sounds consistent with the autopilot disconnecting.27
  • 1 minute 4 seconds and 57 seconds: the airplane's electronic voice called "sink rate sink rate" twice. Its altitude callouts ran from one thousand feet through forty and ten.27
  • 48 seconds: "too low terrain," annunciated four times, and once more at 39 seconds.27
  • 31 seconds: sounds similar to the aircraft touching down.27
  • 15 seconds: a pilot called for a go-around.27
  • 10 seconds: sounds similar to the aircraft departing the paved surface.27

From the flight data recorder, groundspeed in knots, counting back to the end of its recording.27

  • From the flight data recorder, groundspeed in knots, counting back to the end of its recording.27
  • 30 seconds: the nose and right main gear touched down at 158 knots, about 182 miles an hour.27
  • 23 seconds: the brakes were applied at 146 knots.27
  • 19 seconds: the left main gear touched down at 134 knots.27
  • 15 seconds: the brakes were released at 120 knots and the throttles were increased to a value consistent with go-around thrust.27
  • 11 seconds: the throttles were reduced to idle and the brakes re-applied, at 117 knots. They stayed that way to the end.27
  • 7 seconds: the recorded accelerations changed markedly; groundspeed 96 knots.27
  • 0 seconds: the recording ended at 65 knots. The update says there was no indication in the recorded data that the speed brakes or thrust reversers were deployed.27

What the update does not say is as important as what it does. It does not name which pilot was flying or which one warned about speed. It does not say why the go-around was started and then given up four seconds later. It does not state the wind at touchdown, where on the runway the airplane touched down, or a speed for the moment it left the pavement. It does not give a cause. Chihoon Shin, the investigator in charge, told reporters that crew interviews would fill in actions the pilots took but did not say aloud, and that the board needed that account before analyzing the throttles.2749

  • What the update does not say is as important as what it does. It does not name which pilot was flying or which one warned about speed. It does not say why the go-around was started and then given up four seconds later. It does not state the wind at touchdown, where on the runway the airplane touched down, or a speed for the moment it left the pavement. It does not give a cause. Chihoon Shin, the investigator in charge, told reporters that crew interviews would fill in actions the pilots took but did not say aloud, and that the board needed that account before analyzing the throttles.2749

Three stories on the update were checked against the release itself.27

  • Three stories on the update were checked against the release itself.27

CNN counted five "too low terrain" warnings and two "sink rate" warnings. The release lists four at 48 seconds and one at 39, and sink rate at 1:04 and 0:57, so both counts check out. Its "nearly 140 mph" at the go-around attempt is the release's 120 knots converted; "four seconds later" for the throttles coming back is 15 seconds to 11. CNN wrote that the throttles went to "full take-off power"; the release says a value consistent with go-around thrust. CNN also reports Shin gave the data-recorder figures at a Tuesday briefing, a day before the written update.4927

  • 49CNN on the recorder dataFive times, it warned “too low terrain,”as the plane was traveling at nearly 140 mphFour seconds later, the throttles were brought back to idle
  • 27NTSB investigative update, September 9Electronic “too low terrain” callout. Annunciated four times.throttles were increased to a value consistent with go-around thrust

NPR wrote that one pilot warned "for nearly two minutes"; the release's first caution is at 1 minute 42 seconds and the comments continue to the end, which checks out. Its wording that the other pilot never gave "a consistent verbal response" is the release's phrase. Its halfway-down-the-runway touchdown point is Flightradar24's estimate from the NTSB figures, not the NTSB's; the release does not say where the airplane touched down. NPR calls 21 Air a carrier based in North Carolina; Reuters called it Miami-based.502748

CBS Miami reported Shin's account of the data recorder: the nose and right main gear first at 158 knots, the left main gear eleven seconds later, go-around thrust, then idle and brakes at 117 knots eleven seconds before the end, about 75 miles an hour at the end, and no indication of speed brakes or reversers. Every figure matches the release; 75 miles an hour is the release's 65 knots converted. It reported the pilot interviews set for 9 a.m. Wednesday and Homendy saying a preliminary report is expected in the coming weeks.5127

  • 51CBS Miami on the go-around dataEleven seconds later, the left main landing gear made contact with the pavement and engine power increased.the aircraft was traveling at approximately 75 mphA preliminary report is expected to be released in the coming weeks.
  • 27NTSB investigative update, September 9The nose and right main gear touched down at a groundspeed of 158 knots.

An arresting bed is a strip of crushable material past the runway end, built to stop a plane that leaves the pavement. Homendy said investigators would look at the lack of one on Runway 30, and CBS reported she would ask whether one should have been installed and whether it could have made a difference. Two different questions get asked about the bed that is not there, and they do not have the same answer. The first is compliance. The FAA's newsroom page says a runway safety area can be 500 feet wide and often extends 1,000 feet beyond each runway end, and that beds are used where achieving that full area is not practicable, usually for want of land. The FAA's blog says the same thing in its own words. Experts told AP that Miami appears to meet the federal rule without a bed because it has a 1,000-foot safety area past the runway. So the absence of a bed is not on its face a violation. That is an expert reading, not an FAA finding about Runway 30, and no such finding has been published.1637323146

  • An arresting bed is a strip of crushable material past the runway end, built to stop a plane that leaves the pavement. Homendy said investigators would look at the lack of one on Runway 30, and CBS reported she would ask whether one should have been installed and whether it could have made a difference. Two different questions get asked about the bed that is not there, and they do not have the same answer. The first is compliance. The FAA's newsroom page says a runway safety area can be 500 feet wide and often extends 1,000 feet beyond each runway end, and that beds are used where achieving that full area is not practicable, usually for want of land. The FAA's blog says the same thing in its own words. Experts told AP that Miami appears to meet the federal rule without a bed because it has a 1,000-foot safety area past the runway. So the absence of a bed is not on its face a violation. That is an expert reading, not an FAA finding about Runway 30, and no such finding has been published.1637323146

The second question is sufficiency, and compliance does not answer it. The FAA's newsroom page states the design condition plainly: a standard installation "will stop most aircraft overrunning the runway at 70 knots (approximately 80 miles per hour)." The FAA's engineering page puts the same number as 70 knots or less. The NTSB's September 9 update gives the recorder's groundspeeds near the end of the pavement: 117 knots eleven seconds before the data recorder stopped, when the throttles went to idle and the brakes went back on, and 96 knots seven seconds before, when the recorded accelerations changed markedly. Both released figures are above the bed's design speed, so a bed cannot be assumed to have stopped this airplane, and it cannot be assumed to have made no difference either. Homendy, asked both questions at the briefing, said they would be a key part of the investigation.32302716

  • The second question is sufficiency, and compliance does not answer it. The FAA's newsroom page states the design condition plainly: a standard installation "will stop most aircraft overrunning the runway at 70 knots (approximately 80 miles per hour)." The FAA's engineering page puts the same number as 70 knots or less. The NTSB's September 9 update gives the recorder's groundspeeds near the end of the pavement: 117 knots eleven seconds before the data recorder stopped, when the throttles went to idle and the brakes went back on, and 96 knots seven seconds before, when the recorded accelerations changed markedly. Both released figures are above the bed's design speed, so a bed cannot be assumed to have stopped this airplane, and it cannot be assumed to have made no difference either. Homendy, asked both questions at the briefing, said they would be a key part of the investigation.32302716

The national counts are worth stating exactly, because the unit is where coverage went wrong. The FAA's magazine counts 122 installations at 70 U.S. airports; the FAA's blog counts the same 122 by runway end, at the same 70 airports, across more than two dozen states. On how often the beds have worked, two FAA pages disagree with each other: the newsroom page says 26 overrunning aircraft stopped carrying 497 people, and the blog says 22 carrying 432 since the first bed in 1996.24313231

  • The national counts are worth stating exactly, because the unit is where coverage went wrong. The FAA's magazine counts 122 installations at 70 U.S. airports; the FAA's blog counts the same 122 by runway end, at the same 70 airports, across more than two dozen states. On how often the beds have worked, two FAA pages disagree with each other: the newsroom page says 26 overrunning aircraft stopped carrying 497 people, and the blog says 22 carrying 432 since the first bed in 1996.24313231

Which leaves the question the crash actually poses, and it is narrower than compliance: given the speeds the recorder shows near the end of the pavement, and given the people, the road, and the fences beyond the runway, was the safety area as designed adequate for people outside it, and would a different arresting arrangement have reduced what happened to them. The NTSB team looking at airport survival factors is the group that will take that up. No answer exists yet.1627

  • Which leaves the question the crash actually poses, and it is narrower than compliance: given the speeds the recorder shows near the end of the pavement, and given the people, the road, and the fences beyond the runway, was the safety area as designed adequate for people outside it, and would a different arresting arrangement have reduced what happened to them. The NTSB team looking at airport survival factors is the group that will take that up. No answer exists yet.1627

The public clues about the landing sit in different records, and not one of them is a cause. Set out as the questions investigators will need to determine, they are these.16

  • The public clues about the landing sit in different records, and not one of them is a cause. Set out as the questions investigators will need to determine, they are these.16
  • The wind at touchdown, including the gust and any tailwind component. The airport's observation at 1:53 p.m. reported a thunderstorm and wind from 190 degrees at 17 knots gusting 26; what the airplane actually met is a different number, and a meteorology specialist is on the team.2816
  • The runway's surface condition and any braking reports. Wet or dry is not established, and the NTSB's May 2026 work found airplanes stopping later than their braking assumptions predicted on wet runways.26
  • Whether the approach was stable. CBS says flight tracking data it obtained shows that four miles out "the plane suddenly leveled out and stopped its descent for about 25 seconds," leaving the airplane too high, and that it then descended at around twice the normal rate. That is CBS reading tracking data. The NTSB's own record from the voice recorder has two "sink rate" callouts and five "too low terrain" callouts in the last 64 seconds before touchdown.2747
  • Where the airplane touched down. The speed is now on the record: 158 knots groundspeed when the nose and right main gear touched, about 182 miles an hour, close to Miles O'Brien's 185 from the video. The point on the runway is not in the update.274216
  • Why the go-around was started and then abandoned. The voice recorder has a pilot calling for a go-around 15 seconds before the end; the data recorder has the brakes released and go-around thrust set at 120 knots, then idle and brakes four seconds later. Whether the company's own policy called for a go-around earlier, and why it was given up, are for the crew interviews.2716
  • The landing weight and the performance calculation behind it. A performance specialist is on the team.16
  • Whether the brakes, tires, spoilers and thrust reversers did what they should. The update says the recorded data shows no indication that the speed brakes or thrust reversers were deployed; it does not say whether they were commanded. A systems team is examining27 the airplane's hydraulic, electrical, navigational and pneumatic components, and a separate team the engines.16
  • The crew's experience, training, duty time and rest. Homendy named flight crew experience and training as the first thing the operations group would look at.16
  • What air traffic control told the crew, and whether the crew got timely weather and runway information. Asked exactly that, Homendy said it is something the board looks at in any investigation and that there is no evidence on it yet.16
  • What the crews who landed just before reported. Homendy said the board wants to talk to them.16
  • The airplane's maintenance history, its cargo-conversion paperwork, any deferred items, and the discrepancies the earlier crews that day wrote up. This was the airplane's third flight of the day.1641

Watching: the voice-recorder group's written transcript, the preliminary report Homendy said to expect in the coming weeks, the public docket, and whether the FAA says in writing whether Runway 30 met the safety-area rule without an arresting bed.275123

  • Watching: the voice-recorder group's written transcript, the preliminary report Homendy said to expect in the coming weeks, the public docket, and whether the FAA says in writing whether Runway 30 met the safety-area rule without an arresting bed.275123

Open questions

What we do not know yet

  • The cause of the overrun. Homendy said the team was still collecting evidence. The NTSB has not posted a probable cause.37
  • Which vehicle each of the three people still in hospital was in. The sheriff named them Tuesday without saying, and the van carried seven people while five died in it.4516
  • A preliminary report. The NTSB's September 9 investigative update is its first written document on this accident; it calls its own contents preliminary and subject to change. No preliminary report has been posted and the docket has not been released.2723
  • Which pilot was flying, and why the go-around was abandoned. The update says "a pilot" and "the other pilot" without naming roles, and records the throttles going to idle four seconds after go-around thrust without saying why.27
    • 27NTSB investigative update, September 9and the other pilot cautioned they were too fastThe throttles were reduced to idle power and the brakes were re-applied. The groundspeed was 117 knots.
  • The runway's condition at 1:53 p.m. The observation says thunderstorm; an analyst watching the video said it was not raining. Wet or dry changes how far a landing airplane needs to stop, which is the subject of the NTSB's May 2026 overrun recommendations.2826
  • Whether an engineered materials arresting system at the end of Runway 30 would have changed the result. Homendy said that would be examined. The transcript and the FAA page establish that Runway 30 does not have one; the recorder update gives groundspeeds of 117 and 96 knots near the end of the pavement and no speed for the moment the airplane left it.163027
  • Why the cleaning van was where it was. Homendy said the van was on the inside of the airport with seven people in it, and that the airplane struck navigational aids and equipment before reaching it. No record this story cites says whether the van was parked or moving, whether the area was one it was authorized to be in, whether the crew was working or traveling between jobs, or what rules govern vehicles at that spot.16
  • Whether anyone had assessed the exposure beyond Runway 30 before this. The airplane crossed the safety area, a perimeter fence, a public road, and a second fence line. Whether the placement of navigation equipment, the road, the fencing, or that parking made people foreseeably reachable by an overrun is a question for the NTSB group on airport survival factors; no record this story cites contains an earlier assessment of it.16
  • Whether anything in 21 Air's earlier safety record bears on this flight. Former employees have made allegations in a Labor Department proceeding that has not concluded, management denies them, and CBS's own story says it is not known whether past safety issues had any connection to this crash.47
  • As of September 8, a search found no written Miami-Dade Fire Rescue release beyond the department's posts on X, no 21 Air press release beyond the website statement, no Transportation Department written statement on this accident, no Miami airport newsroom post (the homepage notice is the airport's web record), no hospital records, no cargo totals, no airport passenger count, no Tuesday briefing time in the NTSB's posts, and no prior fatal accident on Runway 30 in any record this story cites.

Sources

The records

Everything this page rests on, numbered where the story cites it. We keep a dated copy of each one.

Primary documents

  1. 1FAA post on Flight 7598 · Federal Aviation Administration, September 6 · the same flight facts as the FAA written statement, in the Sunday X post
  2. 2NTSB go-team announcement · National Transportation Safety Board, September 6 · that a federal investigation had started, with Homendy on scene
  3. 3NTSB Monday briefing notice · National Transportation Safety Board, September 7 · the time and place of the first on-scene briefing
  4. 4NTSB wreckage-field photograph · National Transportation Safety Board, September 7 · Runway 30 and 21 Air LLC Flight 7598, in the agency's own words after the briefing
  5. 5Miami airport ground-stop post · Miami-Dade Aviation Department, September 6 · the full ground stop and the airplane disabled at the northwest end
  6. 6Miami airport one-runway update · Miami-Dade Aviation Department, September 6 · the first partial reopening
  7. 7Miami airport two-runway update · Miami-Dade Aviation Department, September 6 · two of four runways open Sunday evening
  8. 8Fire rescue update, 3:25 p.m. · Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, September 6 · more than 60 units and the airplane on fire
  9. 9Fire rescue update, 6:25 p.m. · Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, September 6 · 200 personnel, five patients taken to hospitals, one person extricated
  10. 1021 Air statement · 21 Air · the operator's own words, including that people died
  11. 11C-SPAN page for the NTSB briefing · C-SPAN, September 7 · that Monday's briefing was recorded on C-SPAN
  12. 12Amazon News statement · Amazon, September 6 · Amazon's earlier Sunday statement on X, before the 3:05 p.m. Pacific update
  13. 13Secretary Duffy on the ground stop · U.S. Department of Transportation, September 6 · the cabinet-level ground-stop post
  14. 14Miami airport Monday update · Miami-Dade Aviation Department, September 7 · two of four runways still closed Monday morning
  15. 15FAA written statement on Flight 7598 · Federal Aviation Administration, September 6 · the flight number, type, origin, and 2 p.m. landing, from the FAA's own accidents page
  16. 16C-SPAN transcript of the NTSB briefing · C-SPAN, September 7 · Homendy's words on the operator, the 2012 van, the Toyota, the missing arresting bed, and the investigation groups
  17. 17Amazon update page · Amazon, September 6 · Kelly Nantel's 1:58 p.m. and 3:05 p.m. Pacific statements, including five dead
  18. 18Miami airport homepage notice · Miami-Dade Aviation Department, saved September 8 · two of four runways still closed and cancellations still running
  19. 19Miami-Dade mayor's Monday release · Miami-Dade County, September 7 · the county's own record of Homendy, the fire response, and stranded passengers
  20. 20DOT Order 2016-9-22 · U.S. Department of Transportation, served September 30, 2016 · 21 Air's 2016 foreign-charter cargo certificate
  21. 21NTSB page for Atlas Air Flight 3591 · National Transportation Safety Board · the 2019 Houston crash: another Amazon cargo 767 that left Miami
  22. 22NTSB investigation page · National Transportation Safety Board, saved September 8 · the case number, the Part 121 operating rules, the operator, and the ongoing status
  23. 23NTSB docket page · National Transportation Safety Board, saved September 8 · that the public docket had not been released
  24. 24FAA Safety Briefing, March/April 2026 · Federal Aviation Administration · the count of arresting beds and airports
  25. 25FAA airport data, Florida · Federal Aviation Administration, saved September 8 · Runway 30's length and declared landing distance
  26. 26NTSB wet-runway overrun report, May 2026 · National Transportation Safety Board · the mechanism precedent: overruns after wet-runway landings
  27. 27NTSB investigative update, September 9 · National Transportation Safety Board, September 9 · the recorder readouts: the speed cautions, the callouts, the go-around call, and the groundspeeds at touchdown, at the go-around attempt, at idle, and at the end of the recording

Official data

  1. 28KMIA weather observation, 1:53 p.m. · NOAA Aviation Weather Center, September 6 observation saved September 8 · thunderstorm, south wind 17 gusting 26, wind shift at 1:37 p.m.
  2. 29FAA registry for N1997A · Federal Aviation Administration · type, serial, and registered owner of the airplane Flightradar24 named
  3. 30FAA arresting-bed engineering page · Federal Aviation Administration · what a standard arresting bed is designed to stop: 70 knots or less
  4. 31Boosting Runway Safety · Federal Aviation Administration, 2026-09-08 · the FAA's own count of arresting beds by runway end and by airport, and when airports install them
  5. 32Engineered Material Arresting System (EMAS) · Federal Aviation Administration, 2026-09-08 · the speed a standard arresting bed is designed to stop, and the runway safety area standard it substitutes for

Coverage checked

  1. 33ABC News, September 6 · published September 6 · Mayor Levine Cava's five-dead, five-injured statement
  2. 34NBC News, September 6 · published September 6 · the fire chief on critical injuries and the crew trapped in the airplane
  3. 35NPR, September 6 · published September 6 · the sheriff's 'operated by Amazon' wording, checked against the FAA
  4. 36PBS NewsHour / AP, September 6 · published September 6 · Sunday night's warning that it was too soon to say who had died
  5. 37CBS News, September 7 · published September 7 · Homendy's briefing as reported: 1,300 feet, the two vehicles, Jackson Memorial and Ryder Trauma, both recorders
  6. 38Reuters, September 7 · published September 7 · the two people on the airplane surviving, and 'utter devastation'
  7. 39CNBC, September 7 · published September 7 · the 2021 van year, wrong against Homendy's transcript
  8. 40Associated Press, September 7 · published September 7 · FlightAware's Sunday cancellation and delay counts, the Schiavo quotation CNBC repeats, and the arresting-bed sentence that swaps beds for airports
  9. 41Flightradar24 incident post · published September 6 · the link from Flight 7598 to tail number N1997A
  10. 42PBS NewsHour, Miles O'Brien, September 7 · published September 7 · an outside reading of the landing video: tailwind, 185 miles an hour, halfway down the runway
  11. 43CNBC, Mary Schiavo, September 7 · published September 7 · an outside reading of the landing video: a long float without a flare
  12. 44USA Today, September 7 · published September 7 · FlightAware's Monday cancellation and delay counts during the Labor Day travel rush
  13. 45Local 10, September 8 · WPLG, published September 8 · the sheriff's names and ages for the dead, the hospital conditions, and the pilots' release
  14. 46Associated Press, September 8 · published September 8, saved 18:42 UTC · the van, the pilots' release, the two-day cancellation count, the safety-area expert view, and the spelling correction
  15. 4721 Air, operator of plane in Miami crash, had prior safety complaints by former employees · CBS News, 2026-09-08 · who controls 21 Air, the Labor Department case and testimony, the former employees' allegations, the denials, and Amazon's answer
  16. 48Investigators recover black boxes from cargo plane crash in Miami · Reuters, as carried by The Spokesman-Review, 2026-09-07 · the Reuters dispatch on the Monday briefing, saved from a newspaper carrying the wire: the airplane's age and a Miami-based description of 21 Air
  17. 49CNN on the recorder data · CNN, published September 9 · the warning counts and the go-around timing checked against the release; Shin on crew interviews
  18. 50NPR on the pilot's speed warning · NPR, published September 10 · the warning duration and the response wording checked against the release; the touchdown-point estimate typed as Flightradar24's
  19. 51CBS Miami on the go-around data · CBS Miami, published September 9 · the data-recorder figures checked against the release; the interview time and the preliminary-report expectation

How we check.

Figures in the source documents 6

Death toll

5 peopleUPI
Recorded passage
The five deaths were among those in the two vehicles.

Injured people

5 peopleUPI
Recorded passage
wounding five others.

Runway distance

1,300 feetUPI
Recorded passage
The airplane traveled 1,300 feet past the paved surface of the airport, she said.

Crew members

2 crew membersUPI
Recorded passage
It was on its third flight of the day and was arriving in Miami from San Juan, Puerto Rico, with two crew members on board.

Van occupants

7 peopleUPI
Recorded passage
NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy told reporters at a press conference Monday that the plane overran the runway, hitting navigational aids and equipment before striking a white van with seven people aboard within the airport perimeter.

Flight count

3 flightsUPI
Recorded passage
It was the plane's third flight that day and the pilots' second.
Source history
  • “5 people” UPI reported on September 8

Sources

  • USA Today · October 2, 2026 · NTSB: Amazon plane pilots weren't warned about winds before crash
  • UPI · September 8, 2026 · NTSB retrieves black boxes as Amazon plane crash probe begins
  • UPI · October 2, 2026 · Amazon Air pilot in deadly crash touched down too late, NTSB says
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