Amazon has announced a decision to pause its cargo operations with 21 Air following a fatal accident on September 6, 2026, in which a Boeing 767 freighter overran the runway at Miami International Airport (MIA), killing five people on the ground. Amazon stated that shipments previously assigned to 21 Air will be reassigned to other contracted carriers within its existing network.
In a statement issued on September 13, 2026, Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel confirmed that the company spent the days following the crash supporting the investigation and reviewing surrounding circumstances before deciding to pause operations with 21 Air, the operator of Flight 7598. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, 21 Air began flying Boeing 767 freighters for Amazon Air in 2024.
Because Amazon holds no air operator certificate for these flights and purchases airlift capacity from certificated carriers, the regulatory relationship with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) remains with 21 Air. The suspension is a voluntary commercial decision by Amazon, and neither company has linked the move to specific investigative findings. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has not yet determined the probable cause of the accident.
According to an NTSB investigative update released on September 9, 2026, Flight 7598 was operating a Part 121 cargo service from San Juan (SJU) to Miami. Flight data indicated the nose and right main landing gear touched down at a groundspeed of 158 knots, with brakes applied at 146 knots and the left main gear touching down at 134 knots. Brakes were subsequently released at 120 knots as throttles were advanced to go-around thrust, before being returned to idle with brakes reapplied at 117 knots. The final recorded groundspeed was 65 knots, with no indication that speed brakes or thrust reversers deployed. Cockpit voice recorder data captured a pilot warning that the aircraft was traveling too fast with about one minute and 40 seconds remaining on the recording.
