A passenger jet carrying 172 people clipped a UPS cargo plane at Miami International Airport, leaving two passengers injured and federal investigators examining what happened on the taxiway.

The collision happened at roughly 9:15 p.m. Saturday, just after the Copa Airlines flight arrived from Panama City and while the UPS aircraft was preparing to depart for Colombia.

Both planes were still on the ground. But the newly released details show how a routine taxi sequence turned into a collision in a matter of seconds.

The Federal Aviation Administration identified the passenger aircraft as a Copa Airlines Boeing 737 and the cargo plane as a UPS Boeing 767. The agency said the Copa jet’s wingtip struck the nose of the UPS aircraft as both planes moved through the airport.

The most important detail came from the taxi instructions issued before impact. According to the FAA, air traffic controllers had told the UPS crew to give way to the Copa flight, which had landed and was heading toward its gate.

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The UPS plane was taxiing for departure when the aircraft made contact. The FAA has opened an investigation, meaning the radio traffic and preliminary account are evidence investigators will examine, not a final ruling on cause or responsibility.

The contact happened at an intersection of two taxiways rather than on an active takeoff or landing run. That distinction helped keep the incident from becoming far worse, but the size of both aircraft makes even a low-speed ground collision serious.

Fox News reviewed the air traffic control audio and reported that a Copa pilot first told the tower that somebody had hit the aircraft. A controller then asked UPS Flight 358 directly whether it had struck the passenger jet.

The UPS pilot’s answer was blunt: the cargo plane had gone too far, and the Copa jet clipped it with the wing. The controller immediately instructed the UPS crew to hold position.

Copa said Flight CM427 was carrying 166 passengers and six crew members after arriving from Panama City. Everyone disembarked at the terminal, while two passengers were treated for apparent minor injuries and did not need to be taken to a hospital.

UPS said its crew was safe and pledged to cooperate with authorities. The cargo flight had been scheduled to travel from Miami to Bogota, Colombia.

ABC News reported that airport officials and the FAA both confirmed the collision Saturday night. Miami-Dade Aviation Department officials said the arriving and departing aircraft made contact where two taxiways intersected.

Airport traffic was redirected around the damaged planes, allowing operations to continue without a full shutdown. Fire rescue crews treated the two injured passengers at the scene.

The incident landed at an already tense moment for air travelers. Airports nationwide were still recovering from Friday’s rare FAA ground stop, which disrupted thousands of flights after instability hit radar and communications systems.

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Officials have not linked that nationwide technology failure to the Miami taxiway collision. They are separate events unless investigators produce evidence showing otherwise.

The good news is that every passenger and crew member got off safely and the injuries were minor. The unanswered question is why the UPS 767 moved beyond the point where it could safely yield to the arriving 737.

That answer now belongs to the FAA investigation, but the controller’s instruction and the pilot’s immediate response will be difficult details to overlook.

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.

 

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