Miami-Dade authorities have identified all five people killed when an Amazon Prime Air Boeing 767 overran a runway and plowed into vehicles on and off airport property, and the NTSB is now pressing to find out why the jet couldn't stop.
The Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office on Tuesday released the names of the dead: Rolando Aleman Leon, 55; Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo, 53; Julio C. Pineda, 75; Carlos Acosta Fajardo, 53; and Javierkys Reyes Quevedo, 47. All five were riding in a Ford Econoline van owned by Professional Ocean Service Corporation, a cleaning company, when the cargo jet struck the vehicle inside the airport's perimeter on Sunday afternoon.
Two other people in the van survived but remain hospitalized. A third person, struck in a separate vehicle on Northwest 67th Avenue, a public road outside the airport's security fence, is also in the hospital. AP News reported that three of the injured are in critical condition.
A Boeing 767 traveled 1,300 feet past the runway's end
The crash happened September 6 at Miami International Airport. The Boeing 767-300 freighter, operated by 21 Air under contract with Amazon, was landing on the airport's diagonal runway when it overran the pavement by approximately 1,300 feet, nearly a quarter mile. The jet broke through the airport's security fence and came to rest after striking the cleaning company van and a Toyota Corolla Cross LE on the street beyond.
NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy described the aftermath in blunt terms.
"I would describe it in one word as devastating, utter devastation."
Seven workers were inside the van at the moment of impact. Five died. The scene left thick black smoke visible across the surrounding area, Just The News reported.
Fatal aviation incidents that require authorities to identify multiple victims place enormous strain on families waiting for word. A recent Alaska charter crash that killed eight underscored how difficult and time-consuming that process can be.
Both pilots walked out of the hospital, one reportedly said his career was finished
The two pilots survived. The Sheriff's Office confirmed both were treated for their injuries and released from the hospital. Fox News identified them as Captain Joseph Carroll, 55, and First Officer Jaime Felipe Silva Molina, 37. Both hold certifications to fly the Boeing 767.
A witness named Abraham Altamar told Fox News that one of the pilots, shortly after the crash, spoke with his wife and said:
"My career is over."
The NTSB planned to interview both Carroll and Silva Molina on Wednesday. Federal investigators are focused on a central question: why the jet could not stop after touching down. Preliminary evidence suggests the pilots may have considered aborting the landing after the aircraft was already on the ground, a decision that, if confirmed, would raise sharp questions about how late the jet touched down and what options the crew had left.
Mary Schiavo, a pilot and former Transportation Department Inspector General, pointed to one factor that could have compounded the problem.
"A tail wind would certainly add to your troubles if you've already given up a good chunk of the runway by not touching down and landing right away."
Investigators are examining landing speed, braking performance, wind conditions, and the aircraft's mechanical history. The NTSB has not assigned a cause. That determination typically takes months.
21 Air's CEO expressed condolences but offered few details
Keith Winters, CEO of 21 Air, the airline that operated the flight under Amazon's Prime Air brand, posted a statement to the company's website. He confirmed the company is "cooperating fully" with the FAA, NTSB, and local authorities but offered no specifics about the flight's origin, destination, or flight number.
"We are devastated by the accident involving one of our aircraft in Miami on 09/06. Our deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives. Our immediate priorities are supporting those affected, assisting the authorities, and ensuring that accurate information is communicated as it becomes available."
Amazon itself has not issued a separate public statement, according to AirlineGeeks' reporting. The distinction matters. Amazon contracts with carriers like 21 Air to fly its cargo under the Prime Air banner, but the operational responsibility, crew training, aircraft maintenance, dispatch decisions, sits with the contract operator. How much oversight Amazon exercises over those operations is a question regulators and the public will press as the investigation unfolds.
The crash recalls other recent mass-casualty aviation disasters where authorities faced the grim task of recovering and identifying victims. A military transport crash in India that killed five crew members during landing drew similar scrutiny over runway conditions and aircraft handling.
Five workers in a company van never made it home
What makes this crash especially hard to absorb is who died. These were not passengers aboard the aircraft. They were workers, employees of a cleaning company, riding in a van on or near airport property when a 200-ton cargo jet barreled through a security fence and into their path. They had no warning, no chance to react, and no connection to the flight that killed them.
The ages of the dead, 47, 53, 53, 55, and 75, suggest a crew of working adults, at least one near retirement age. The van held seven people total. Two survived, but both remain in the hospital. The driver or occupant of the SUV struck on Northwest 67th Avenue is also hospitalized.
Crashes that kill people on the ground, bystanders, motorists, workers, carry a particular weight. A small plane crash in Bowie, Maryland, that killed three people after takeoff drew similar attention to the vulnerability of people near airports and flight paths.
Several critical questions remain unanswered. What was the van doing within the airport's boundaries at the time of the crash, was it on an access road, a service route, or somewhere it should not have been? Did the airport's runway safety area function as designed? And if the pilots recognized they could not stop, why didn't they go around before touching down?
The NTSB's full investigation will take months. In the meantime, the families of five working men are left with nothing but a company CEO's condolences and a promise of cooperation. A Florida family killed in a private plane crash near the Bahamas faced a similarly agonizing wait for answers that may never fully arrive.
Five men went to work on a Sunday afternoon in Miami and never came home. The investigators owe their families, and every worker who drives near an active runway, a full accounting of what went wrong and who bears responsibility.
