In an uncharacteristically calm interaction between the pilots moments after two aircraft collided while taxiing at the Miami International Airport on Saturday, the Copa Airlines pilot can be heard acknowledging that the left wingtip seems to have been hit.
The collision between the passenger jet and a UPS cargo aircraft left two people injured. The air traffic control (ATC) audio suggests that the collision occurred despite instructions to the cargo plane to give way to Copa Airlines' Boeing 737, which had 172 people on board.
As the UPS Boeing 767 aircraft continued taxiing at a low speed, the wingtip of the Copa Airlines jet struck the nose of the cargo jet. In the ATC audio, the Copa Airlines pilot can be heard saying, "Somebody hit us". Acknowledging the contact, the UPS pilot said, "Yeah, we went too far, and then he clipped us with the wing." In response, the Copa Airlines pilot reported that the aircraft seems to be "missing the left wingtip".
The Copa Airlines flight had just landed from Panama City, while the UPS aircraft was preparing to take off for Bogota in Colombia.
In an official statement, Copa Airlines said it "regrets the disruption this incident may cause our passengers", adding that the "safety of our passengers and crew is our top priority, and we will cooperate with authorities as they investigate."
UPS said it was “committed to working with authorities to determine what happened” and confirmed that its crew was safe.
Saturday's incident comes at a time a nationwide ground stop caused widespread chaos and flight cancellations, resulting in hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded at airports across the US. Reports claimed passengers at airports slept on floors as they waited for rebooked flights.
Air travel disruptions across the US are expected to persist well into Sunday, as thousands of flights were cancelled or delayed as airlines struggle to restore normal operations following a nationwide shutdown caused by problems in the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) air traffic control communications system.
The crisis began on Friday after the FAA issued a nationwide ground stop, bringing almost all departing flights across the country to a halt for nearly five hours. The longest aircraft stoppage in 25 years in the US prompted an emergency White House meeting.
Initially, authorities considered whether a cyberattack could have triggered the breakdown in the aviation system. However, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy later said that the technical problem had been traced to the installation of at least one new router by FAA contractor L3Harris at a remote facility.
