Runway excursions, where a landing aircraft fails to stop within the declared stopping distance available for a given configuration, sit near the top of the failure modes that commercial freight regulators track most closely. The risk compounded Saturday afternoon at Miami International Airport when Prime Air flight 7598, a Boeing 767-300 operated by 21 Air, overran a diagonal runway while landing around 2 p.m. local time, struck multiple vehicles, and caught fire. The Federal Aviation Administration imposed a full ground stop, and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue mobilized more than 60 units.
The aircraft had departed Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. County computer-aided dispatch records place the first emergency call at approximately 1:55 p.m. Airport officials said the 767-300 is disabled at the northwest end of Miami International.
Fire officials said the plane caught fire as a result of the crash. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue described arriving to find heavy flames and smoke, with crews working to extinguish the blaze and assess patients. Multiple patients were confirmed; authorities had not released specifics on injuries or fatalities as of the most recent update.
All runways and taxiways at Miami International closed at 3 p.m. The FAA's Air Traffic Control System Command Center placed the ground stop in effect until at least 4:30 p.m. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy posted on X that the agency issued the stop while first responders assessed the scene, and advised travelers in the area to expect significant delays and potential cancellations. The FAA confirmed it will investigate the incident.