Amazon pauses 21 Air operations after fatal Miami cargo plane crash

Amazon has temporarily suspended its operations with cargo carrier 21 Air following a fatal plane crash at Miami International Airport that claimed five lives.

Amazon has temporarily suspended its operations with cargo carrier 21 Air following a fatal plane crash at Miami International Airport that claimed five lives.

The decision was announced on Sunday, September 13 after Amazon reviewed the circumstances surrounding the accident and continued to cooperate with investigators examining the incident.

Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said the company had spent the days following the crash supporting the investigation and assessing the circumstances surrounding the accident.

“After the tragic incident last weekend, we’ve spent time supporting the investigation and reviewing some of the surrounding circumstances,” Nantel said. “We’ve decided to pause our operations with 21 Air, the operator of Flight 7598.”

She added that Amazon would continue supporting the investigation and those affected by the crash.

The aircraft involved in the accident was operated by 21 Air on behalf of Amazon Air, Amazon’s dedicated air cargo network.

The cargo flight crashed last weekend while landing at Miami International Airport. According to officials, the aircraft overran the runway and struck several vehicles on the ground, resulting in multiple fatalities.

The plane was a Boeing 767-300 freighter that had been in service for around 32 years. According to flight-tracking data, the aircraft had previously operated as a passenger aircraft for several airlines between 1994 and 2015 before being converted for cargo operations.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is leading the investigation into the crash.

Investigators said evidence recovered from the aircraft’s flight data recorder indicated that the pilots had considered aborting the landing after the plane touched down.

The NTSB also reported that one of the pilots had warned that the aircraft was travelling “too fast” slightly more than a minute before it landed on the runway.

Investigators are continuing to examine the aircraft’s performance, the crew’s actions, runway conditions and other factors that could have contributed to the accident.

The aircraft had already completed two flights before the fatal accident.

The plane had travelled from Cincinnati to Miami before flying from Miami to San Juan, Puerto Rico. It then began its return journey when the crash occurred during its third flight of the day.

The investigation remains ongoing and authorities have not yet determined the definitive cause of the accident.

Amazon’s decision to pause operations with 21 Air highlights the company’s response to the crash while investigators continue to establish what went wrong during the final approach and landing.