MIAMI — The cargo airline that flew the plane that ran off the end of a Miami runway over Labor Day weekend and killed five people lost one of its biggest customers when Amazon suspended its partnership with 21 Air, and it’s not yet clear if the company will lose more business while the crash is being investigated.
The Boeing 767, loaded with packages of contact lenses, came in fast on Sept. 6, and then barreled roughly 1,300 feet (396 metres) past the end of the runway and smashed into a van carrying workers at a plane cleaning company. All five people who died were in the van. Five others were hurt.
“After the tragic incident last weekend, we’ve spent time supporting the investigation and reviewing some of the surrounding circumstances, and we’ve decided to pause our operations with 21 Air, the operator of Flight 7598,” Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in a statement. “We’ll continue working to support the investigation and everyone affected.”
The National Transportation Safety Board will examine everything that might have contributed to the crash to determine what caused it. That will include the actions of the pilots and air traffic controllers as well as the jet’s maintenance history, the airline’s practices and the stormy weather at the time of the crash.
The North Carolina carrier had flown packages for Amazon since 2024. The company also flies packages for DHL. Data from aviation analytics firm Cirium show that 21 Air leases its 18 airplanes, which include 13 Boeing 767s and five 757s. At least six of those planes are leased from Amazon affiliates and at least three from DHL.
“We remain focused on supporting the families and loved ones who were impacted by this accident, as well as working closely with the NTSB and all our partners, like Amazon, as the investigation continues,” 21 Air said in a statement. “We are confident in our safety policies, procedures and training.”
DHL spokesman Robert Mintz declined to say Monday whether that package hauler will continue to use 21 Air because of “the ongoing investigation and the sensitive nature of the matter.”
“DHL continually assesses its network and relationships with service providers to ensure we meet the needs of our customers and our operational requirements,” Mintz said.
Flight information released by the NTSB on Sept. 9 revealed one of the pilots warned his counterpart they were going too fast as they approached for landing and after touchdown.
The plane was unsteady as it came in and didn’t touch down until it was well beyond where it was supposed to land on the runway, which limited the amount of space it had to stop. A tail wind may have helped propel the plane further.
The cockpit audio recordings also captured a series of automated warnings from the plane about the speed of descent and the approaching terrain. The full transcript of the cockpit conversation won’t be released until later in the investigation.
The 32-year-old Boeing was originally built to carry passengers and flew for several airlines in foreign countries for more than two decades before being converted to a cargo plane in 2015, according to flight-tracking site Flightradar24.
By Josh Funk
