A UPS cargo plane and a Copa Airlines passenger jet collided on the tarmac at Miami International Airport on Saturday, November 14, causing minor injuries to two people.
The incident occurred at approximately 9:15 p.m. as both aircraft were taxiing at the intersection of two taxiways, according to the airport’s communications director, Greg Chin, as reported by CBS News.
Air traffic control recordings captured the immediate aftermath of the contact.
“Somebody hit us,” the pilot of the Copa Airlines Boeing 737 stated, according to the Daily Star. When an air traffic controller asked the crew of the UPS Boeing 767 if they had made contact, the UPS pilot replied, “Yeah, we went too far, and then he, he clipped us with the wing.”
Investigation into taxiway protocols
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said that air traffic controllers had explicitly instructed the UPS crew to give way to the Copa Airlines flight, which had just arrived from Panama City, Panama, as noted by CNN. The UPS aircraft was preparing for a scheduled flight to Bogotá, Colombia, when the collision occurred.
Photographs of the UPS Boeing 767 showed significant damage to the nose of the cargo plane, while the Copa Airlines pilot reported over the radio that his aircraft appeared to be missing its left wingtip, CNN reported. Two people on the passenger jet were treated for minor injuries at the scene by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, but neither required medical transport, according to CBS News.
Passenger experience during the impact
Copa Airlines flight 427 was carrying 166 passengers and six crew members at the time of the collision. “We were taxiing after landing at a normal speed when, all of a sudden, I heard the chatter around me getting louder, followed by a collective scream and then the impact of another aircraft hitting ours,” passenger Cesar Ferreira told CNN.
Ferreira described the sensation inside the cabin as a sudden, abrupt jerk to the side. The flight crew instructed passengers to remain seated, and after approximately 10 minutes, the captain announced there was no imminent danger before a tug was dispatched to tow the aircraft back to the terminal, where all 166 people on board disembarked safely, CNN reported.
Recovery from nationwide flight disruptions
The collision at Miami International Airport occurred just 24 hours after a massive, nationwide ground stop paralyzed air travel across the United States. That disruption, which lasted more than four hours on Friday, was linked to overloaded, outdated air traffic control technology, including routers and switches that failed during a software integration process, according to officials from the Trump administration cited by the Daily Star.
Transport Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed that a contractor was replacing aging copper wiring with new fiber-optic cables when the system failure occurred. “Our contractor didn’t meet the moment,” Duffy said. While FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said that the “worst is behind us,” airlines continued to struggle with residual delays and cancellations throughout the weekend as they worked to reposition crews and aircraft.
Questions about the Miami ground incident
No, the two individuals who reported minor injuries were treated at the scene by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and did not require transport to a hospital, according to Greg Chin, the airport’s communications director.
The Federal Aviation Administration has launched an investigation into the collision, and both UPS and Copa Airlines have stated they are cooperating with authorities to determine the exact cause of the incident.
No, airport operations continued after the incident, as flights were directed to other taxiways to avoid the area where the two planes made contact, CBS News reported.