A Copa Airlines Boeing 737 passenger aircraft collided with a UPS Boeing 767 cargo plane while taxiing at Miami International Airport on Saturday night, November 14, the incident left two people with minor injuries and heavy damages to both the aircraft.
The collision occurred around 9:15 pm local time at the intersection of two taxiways. The Copa Airlines aircraft, which had arrived from Panama City carrying 166 passengers and six crew members, was taxiing towards its gate when its wingtip struck the nose of the UPS cargo aircraft. The UPS plane was preparing to depart for Bogota, Colombia.
All 172 people aboard the Copa Airlines flight safely disembarked following the incident. Two passengers sustained minor injuries and were treated by paramedics at the scene. Neither required hospitalisation. The UPS crew was also reported safe.
The incident came to light through air traffic control (ATC) recordings that captured the tense exchange between the pilots and the control tower immediately after the collision.
In the recording, the Copa Airlines pilot alerted air traffic controllers, saying, "Somebody hit us." When the controller contacted the UPS crew to confirm whether the aircraft had made contact with the passenger jet, the cargo plane's pilot acknowledged the collision, saying, "Yeah, we went too far and then he clipped us with his wing."
The Copa pilot subsequently informed the control tower that the aircraft appeared to have lost its left wingtip.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), air traffic controllers had instructed the UPS aircraft to give way to the approaching Copa Airlines flight before the collision. However, the circumstances that led to the incident remain under investigation.
Photographs from the scene showed visible damage to the nose of the UPS aircraft, while the Copa plane also sustained damage to its wingtip.
Both airlines confirmed that their respective passengers and crew members were safe and said they would cooperate with the authorities.
The FAA has launched an investigation to determine the exact sequence of events and establish whether ground movement or taxiway clearance procedures contributed to the collision.
The incident comes amid heightened concerns over US aviation operations, just a day after a nationwide FAA ground stop triggered widespread flight cancellations and delays across the country.
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