Two runways are currently closed at Miami International Airport after an Amazon-branded cargo plane overran a runway, resulting in five fatalities. The leased 767, which bears the “Prime Air” brand Amazon uses for its air freight and drone operations, landed but was unable to stop before the end of the 2850-meter runway 30. The plane appears to have exited the runway and the airport grounds, crossed a road, and come to a halt in what looks like a carpark. As it ran across grass beyond the runway, the plane’s nose pitched down into the ground, its starboard engine caught fire, and the craft sustained extensive damage. Local authorities have confirmed that five people died, and three are severely injured. A statement from Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel says the company is”heartbroken to learn that five people lost their lives in today’s incident at Miami International Airport.” The statement identifies the operator of the plane as 21Air, a company that leases cargo planes and crew to its customers. 21Air CEO Keith Winters said “We are devastated by the accident involving one of our aircraft in Miami today. 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.” At the time of writing, the crash is just over 12 hours in the past, so investigators’ work has just begun. A video purportedly showing the plane landing depicts dark storm clouds and rain around the airport. That weather could conceivably have created gusty conditions that made landing unusually challenging. Federal records indicate the plane rolled off the Boeing production line in 1994. According to Planespotters, its first owner was Belgian carrier Sobelair, and it was later bought by carriers from Vietnam, Spain, Kenya, and Russia, before freight airline Atlas acquired it in 2015 and converted it from passenger to freight operations. That’s a common fate for older planes, which passenger airlines sell at very low prices. Cargo airlines can therefore pick up well-maintained planes at very low prices, meaning they have lower borrowing or leasing costs. That cheap purchase price offsets the higher maintenance and operating costs that come with older planes. All commercial aircraft, however, share strict airworthiness requirements. This is the second major crash involving a 767 leased by Amazon, after the 2019 incident that saw a plane unexpectedly nose-dive. ®

The Green Party of England and Wales wants the government to end the blanket designation of new bit barns as “critical infrastructure” and change planning rules to stop such facilities taking precedence over households for water and energy. The current UK government designated datacenters as critical national infrastructure (CNI) back in 2024, putting them on the same footing as essential services such as water and power. This made them eligible for special protection, but may also make it easier for developers to overcome any local objections to their construction, as The Register pointed out. The Green Party claims that CNI status means that server farms are prioritized for access to water and energy, even when ordinary households are hit with drought restrictions, as over 27 million people currently are in England. It wants to see planning permission for new facilities granted only when the developer can show it will meet the highest environmental standards, and there has been full community consultation. “We need to slam the brakes on the rampant building of new datacenters which could put our communities at risk of water shortages and drive up energy bills – and yet are currently being waved through by our government,” said Green Party leader Zack Polanski. “Data should serve people, not the other way around – but right now, because datacenters are designated as critical infrastructure, people come a poor second, with datacenters even being given priority for water and electricity.” “We need clear criteria to distinguish between datacenters vital to national security or public services, and those that simply serve private tech companies and private profit,” Polanski added.  There was certainly talk earlier this year of prioritizing "strategically important" grid connections, which would include data campuses, and a report published by the London Assembly late last year highlighted the pressure on the power supply in the capital, with some areas of West London having to put a hold on new housing developments. On the water side, MPs were warned earlier this year that official forecasts of England's future water needs excluded datacenters, despite the growing number of them, and that they could end up competing with homes and businesses for supply. The Green Party claims that a single large-scale datacenter can use around 1.5 million liters (396,258 US gallons) of water per day, comparable to the daily water needs of a town of around 10,000 people. Yet bit barn construction is projected to expand rapidly, with growth often concentrated in areas already classified as water-stressed, like London and the South East. But water consumption can vary, depending on the cooling systems in use at specific facilities. In theory, newer campuses should require less water, especially if they are deploying AI infrastructure that uses so-called direct-to-chip cooling, where fluid is circulated through a closed-loop system. A government spokesperson told us: “A pause on building new datacenters would simply send investment and good jobs abroad, while leaving Britain dependent on overseas computing for the processing of sensitive health and defense data. Put simply, it would be a disaster for jobs and national security.” However, the spokesperson added: “This does not mean a blank cheque for Big Tech or that every datacenter should be approved. Developers should prioritize clean power, use water responsibly, create British jobs and supply chains, and provide investment to the communities in which they are built." The Green Party is also calling on the government to urgently develop a comprehensive national strategy for AI infrastructure, as the country is currently dependent on foreign-owned infrastructure for critical services, from healthcare to public safety – something the Institute for Public Policy Research was warning about just this week. ®