Two planes collide at Miami International Airport during taxiing
A Copa Airlines passenger jet and a UPS cargo aircraft collided on Saturday, leaving two people injured.
A Copa Airlines Boeing 737 and a UPS Boeing 767 collided while taxiing at Miami International Airport on Saturday night, according to reports from the Free Press Journal and Hindustan Times. The incident occurred at approximately 9 pm local time at the intersection of two taxiways.
Air traffic control audio suggests the collision happened after instructions were given to the UPS cargo plane to give way to the Copa Airlines flight. The Copa Airlines aircraft, which had arrived from Panama City, had 172 people on board, while the UPS aircraft was preparing to depart for Bogota, Colombia. The wingtip of the passenger jet struck the nose of the cargo plane.
The UPS pilot acknowledged in an audio recording that the aircraft had moved too far and clipped the other plane with its wing. The Copa Airlines pilot reported that the aircraft appeared to be missing its left wingtip. Miami International Airport communications director Greg Chin stated that two people were injured in the incident.
Copa Airlines said it regrets the disruption and will cooperate with authorities during the investigation. UPS confirmed its crew was safe and said it is committed to working with authorities to determine the cause. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has launched an investigation into the collision.
The accident follows a nationwide ground stop in the US on Friday caused by technical issues in the FAA air traffic control communications system. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the technical problem was traced to the installation of a new router by contractor L3Harris at a remote facility.