Accidents

Amazon Suspends Cargo Carrier After Deadly Miami Crash

Is pausing flights with 21 Air genuine safety leadership or just damage control after five workers died?

Published SEP 14

Amazon Suspends Cargo Carrier After Deadly Miami Crash

Story

Above: Workers prepare to remove the crashed Amazon cargo plane at Miami International Airport on Sept. 14. Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The Facts

Amazon said it has paused operations with cargo carrier 21 Air, the operator of Flight 7598, following the Sept. 6 crash at Miami International Airport that killed five people on the ground and injured five others.
NPR
The New York Times
Spokesperson Kelly Nantel said Amazon spent time supporting the investigation and "reviewing some of the surrounding circumstances" before deciding to pause the partnership. The company did not say how long the suspension would last.
Air Data News
Fox Business
The Boeing 767, which was carrying packages of contact lenses from San Juan, Puerto Rico, ran roughly 1,300 feet (396 meters) past the end of the runway and struck a van carrying workers from a plane-cleaning company. All five who died were in the van.
Fox Business
ABC27
Flight information released by the National Transportation Safety Board on Sept. 9 showed one pilot repeatedly warned the other about excessive speed during the approach, and a pilot called for a go-around about 16 seconds after touchdown.
NPR
The New York Times
The NTSB said flight data showed no indication that the aircraft's speed brakes or thrust reversers deployed during landing. Investigators have not determined why the systems were not recorded as deployed or established a probable cause.
Fox Business
Air Data News
21 Air, based in Greensboro, N.C., has flown packages for Amazon since 2024 and also carries freight for DHL, which declined to say on Monday whether it will continue using the carrier, citing the ongoing investigation.
The New York Times
The Associated Press

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

Pausing flights with 21 Air is exactly the right call while investigators piece together what went wrong in Miami. Grounding a contractor's operation until the facts come in shows safety outranks package volume, and no retailer should keep flying a carrier tied to an unexplained fatal overrun. Rigorous oversight of third-party cargo carriers is the whole point.

Tekkaus® on X

Fox Business

Narrative B

A temporary pause is a public relations move, not accountability for five dead airport workers and families left shattered. Building a delivery empire on outsourced lift, aging freighters and contract ground crews spreads the risk while keeping the blame at arm's length. Real safety means audit rights, enforced standards and protected workers before the next crash, not after.