Miami Crash Victims Were Plane Cleaners in Van
MIAMI — All five people killed when an Amazon cargo jet overran a runway at Miami International Airport on Sunday were plane cleaners riding in a company van that was struck by the aircraft, authorities confirmed Tuesday.
The victims were identified by the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office as Rolando Aleman Leon, 55; Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo, 53; Julio C. Pineda, 75; Carlos Acosta Fajardo, 53; and Javierkys Reyes Quevedo, 47. All were employees of Professional Ocean Service Corp., an airline cleaning contractor, according to AP News.
The Crash
The Boeing 767-300, operated by North Carolina-based cargo carrier 21 Air on behalf of Amazon Air, was arriving from San Juan, Puerto Rico, around 2 p.m. Sunday when it overran Runway 30. The aircraft traveled approximately 1,300 feet past the paved surface, striking a 2012 Ford Econoline van carrying seven cleaning workers on airport property before breaking through a perimeter fence and hitting a Toyota Corolla Cross SUV on Northwest 67th Avenue outside the airport, AP News reported.
The plane came to rest near a parking lot where Tesla robotaxis were stationed, with fire erupting around its starboard engine. More than 60 fire rescue units and approximately 200 firefighters responded to the scene.
Victims and Survivors
Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz expressed condolences at a Tuesday news conference, saying, “It’s an incredibly tragic incident that has occurred. One leaves their house to go to work, to visit family, to do what we normally do, without thinking that is even a possibility,” as NBC News reported.
Five others were injured in the crash. The two pilots, Jaime Felipe Silva Molina, 37, and Joseph Carol, 55, were treated and released from the hospital. Three other people remain hospitalized — two in critical condition and one in stable condition.
Professional Ocean Service Corp. released a statement expressing grief over the loss of its employees: “Our employees are far more than the people who work beside us each day, they are family, and they are deeply loved. Our hearts and prayers are with every employee and every family whose lives have been forever changed.”
Amazon said in a statement: “We’re heartbroken to learn that five people lost their lives in today’s incident at Miami International Airport. Our deepest sympathies go out to the families, loved ones, and all those affected by this devastating loss.”
Investigation Underway
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is leading the investigation with a 32-person team on site. NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy described the crash scene as “utter devastation,” noting that the van carrying the cleaning crew was “torn apart.”
Investigators have recovered the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder, which are being sent to NTSB headquarters for evaluation, according to BBC News. The NTSB will examine the plane’s speed and braking, weather conditions, the aircraft’s mechanical condition, crew training, and whether the runway should have been equipped with an Engineered Material Arresting System (EMAS).
“Our recommendations must be implemented or we’re going to be here again,” Homendy said at a Monday news conference, as AP News reported.
Expert Analysis of Possible Causes
Video of the landing appears to show the Boeing 767 remaining airborne well down the runway before touching down, without performing the standard “flare” maneuver to force the wheels onto the ground. Aviation experts say investigators will seek to determine exactly where the plane landed and why the pilots did not abort the landing.
Mary Schiavo, a pilot and former Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Transportation, told reporters that the plane “didn’t touch down right away, and so it lost a lot of critical real estate by just continuing to float over the runway. It was literally still flying.”
Weather may have played a role. The plane landed during developing thunderstorms, with winds gusting up to 26 knots (48 km/h). BBC Verify found an active thunderstorm near the airport shortly before the crash, with the wind direction suddenly changing during the landing — potentially giving the plane a tailwind.
Runway Safety Concerns
Miami International Airport is not equipped with an EMAS — beds of lightweight, crushable material at the end of runways designed to stop planes that overrun. The FAA says EMAS has been installed at more than 120 airports nationwide and has helped save at least 497 lives. However, Miami appears compliant with federal rules because it has a 1,000-foot safety buffer at the end of its runways.
Schiavo argued that an arrestor system is needed at Miami given its urban surroundings: “An airport this surrounded by population, they need an arrestor bed system at the end of these runways to stop this from happening again.”
Broader Context
The crash occurred during the Labor Day holiday weekend, one of the busiest travel periods in the U.S. More than 225 flights were canceled Sunday and Monday, with hundreds more delayed. Two of the airport’s four runways remained closed as of Tuesday.
The 32-year-old Boeing 767 was originally built as a passenger plane and flew for several airlines internationally for more than two decades before being converted to a cargo freighter in 2016. The aircraft, named “Amazon One,” was operated by 21 Air, which began flying for Amazon Air in late 2024.
Runway excursions — when airplanes go off the runway — are the No. 1 incident involving airplanes worldwide, according to data from the International Air Transport Association. The NTSB has said it will not determine a probable cause on scene and has appealed for the public to share photographs or videos that could aid the investigation.
What’s Next
The NTSB is expected to release more information in the coming days, including possible speed data from the flight data recorder. Two of the four runways at Miami International Airport will remain closed until investigators complete their work at the scene.