MIAMI — A Copa Airlines Boeing 737 taxiing to its gate clipped a UPS cargo plane at Miami International Airport on Saturday night, the Federal Aviation Administration said, and two passengers were treated for minor injuries.
The contact came at the intersection of two taxiways. Greg Chin, communications director for the Miami-Dade Aviation Department, put the time at about 9:15 p.m. and said an arriving aircraft and a departing aircraft made contact there.
Controllers had told the UPS crew to give way to the Copa flight, according to the agency, which is investigating.
“The wingtip of a Copa Airlines Boeing 737 struck the nose of a UPS Boeing 767 while the airplanes were taxiing.”
The Copa jet had just landed from Panama City and was heading for the gate. The UPS 767 was on its way out, taxiing for a departure to Bogota, Colombia.
‘Somebody hit us’
Radio traffic picked up the first moments after the impact. “Somebody hit us,” the Copa pilot told the controller.
The controller answered the UPS crew directly: they were supposed to give way to the 737. “Yeah we went too far and then he clipped us with his wing,” the UPS pilot replied.
A short while later the Copa pilot reported the damage on his side. “It seems that we are missing the left wingtip,” he said.
Cesar Ferreira was sitting in the Copa cabin. He told CNN the plane had been taxiing at a normal speed after landing when the talk around him rose, a scream went up, and the other aircraft hit. The jet jerked sideways, he said, and the crew quickly got passengers to stay in their seats. About 10 minutes later, the captain told them there was no immediate danger and a tug would move the plane.
Two passengers checked, no one taken to a hospital
Copa Airlines said Flight 427 carried 166 passengers and six crew members. In a news release, the airline said preliminary information pointed to a collision between a cargo aircraft and the left wing end of its Boeing 737-800 while both planes were moving through the taxiways.
“The aircraft is now at the terminal, and all passengers have deplaned,” Copa said. “Airport paramedics evaluated two passengers for apparent minor injuries. All other passengers and all six crew members are reported to be in good condition.”
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue gave the same count from the ground. Its crews assessed two patients at the scene, and no one was taken to a hospital. Chin said flights were being sent along other taxiways, so the collision did not affect airport operations.
UPS, for its part, confirmed one of its aircraft was involved and that its crew was unharmed. “Our crew is safe, and we are committed to working with authorities to determine what happened,” the cargo carrier said in a statement posted on X. “The safety of our employees and the public is our highest priority.”
Copa apologized for the inconvenience and the concern, and said it would cooperate with the investigation. “We reiterate that the safety of passengers and crews is our priority,” the airline said.
The collision came a day after the FAA lifted a nationwide ground stop that had held U.S. departures for hours on Friday and left airports working through backed-up schedules. Investigators have not linked the two events, and the FAA has announced no cause for the taxiway collision.