MIAMI (The Thursday Times) — A Copa Airlines passenger jet and a UPS cargo plane collided on a taxiway at Miami International Airport on Saturday night, injuring two people. The collision came a day after a nationwide ground stop disrupted air travel across the United States.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the wingtip of the Copa Boeing 737 struck the nose of the UPS Boeing 767 while both aircraft were taxiing, at about 9pm local time. Air traffic controllers had told the UPS crew to give way to the Copa flight, the agency said. The Copa plane was taxiing to its gate after landing, and the UPS plane was taxiing for departure to Bogotá, Colombia. The FAA said it is investigating.
Two treated at the scene
Greg Chin, communications director for the Miami-Dade Aviation Department, said the two aircraft made contact at the intersection of two taxiways. Two patients were treated at the scene by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue for minor injuries and did not need to be taken to hospital. Flights were redirected to other taxiways, and airport operations were not affected, the airport said.
A passenger on the Copa flight, Cesar Ferreira, described a sudden jolt. “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,” he said. He said the crew got everyone to stay seated. Copa said the safety of passengers and crew is its top priority and that it will cooperate with the investigation. UPS said its crew is safe.
A rough weekend for US air travel
On Friday the FAA halted departures nationwide for about four hours after communication problems hit several air traffic control centres. Officials say the cause was a contractor’s botched switch from copper wire to fibre-optic cable. Thousands of flights were still delayed or cancelled on Sunday. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has blamed a lack of congressional funding for the need for the upgrade, while critics say the White House has not spent the money already allocated for the work.
