Federal investigators are opening an inquiry into a fatal aviation disaster after an Amazon Prime Air cargo jet overran a runway at Miami International Airport, barreling onto an adjacent perimeter road where it struck multiple vehicles and burst into flames.

The tragic Sunday afternoon crash left at least five people dead and five others injured, prompting a massive emergency response and temporarily halting operations at one of the nation’s busiest travel hubs.

The aircraft, a 32-year-old Boeing 767 operated by North Carolina-based carrier 21 Air, was arriving from San Juan, Puerto Rico, when it overran the landing strip shortly after 2pm.

It plowed across a road commonly used by nearby warehouse workers, crushing vehicles and trapping occupants inside.

Nearly 200 emergency personnel responded to the intense blaze and fuel leak, using specialized firefighting foam to extinguish the aircraft’s engine fire while extricating victims from the wreckage, including the pilot and co-pilot trapped inside the cockpit.

Five individuals were pronounced dead at the scene, while three critical patients and two others with less severe injuries were rushed to local hospitals.

The National Transportation Safety Board, led by Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy, has deployed a team to determine the cause of the overrun.

Aviation safety experts point to several potential contributing factors, including whether the aircraft floated too far down the runway before touching down rather than aborting the landing.

Weather conditions around the airport featured strong winds and dark storm clouds, and analysts note that a tailwind could have severely reduced the available stopping distance. Furthermore, investigators will examine the maintenance history of the aging freighter, which previously flew as a passenger jet under foreign ownership before being converted to cargo in 2015. Observers also highlighted that Miami International Airport lacks crushable material arresting systems at the end of its runways, a safety feature installed at more than 120 other U.S. airports to safely stop overshooting planes.

The incident caused widespread travel disruption across the region, resulting in over 160 canceled flights, more than 300 delays, and multiple diversions to Orlando. In a public statement, Amazon expressed heartbreak over the loss of life and pledged its full cooperation with federal authorities as the investigation gets underway.