A UPS Boeing 767 cargo plane and a Copa Airlines Boeing 737 passenger plane collided at Miami International Airport. The incident occurred at around 9:15 p.m. local time on Saturday, when an arriving and a departing aircraft came into contact at the intersection of two taxiways.
“At approximately 9:15 p.m., an arriving aircraft and a departing aircraft came into contact at the intersection of two taxiways,” said Greg Chin, the Miami airport’s Director of Communications. According to him, there were initially no reports of injuries, and flight traffic was rerouted along other taxiways without affecting airport operations.
Later, Chin уточни that two people had been examined at the scene by teams from the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department because of minor injuries. They did not require transport to a hospital.
Which flights were affected
The UPS aircraft was operating Flight 358 from Miami to Bogotá, Colombia. The Copa Airlines aircraft was operating Flight 427 from Panama City to Miami. The collision occurred on the ground, not during takeoff or landing.
The incident followed a period of significant delays and flight cancellations at the airport after a rare nationwide shutdown of air traffic ordered by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.
Air traffic problems
Federal officials linked the disruption to problems with outdated air traffic control technology. According to them, switches and routers had been overloaded with data, leading to inconsistencies in radar and communications systems.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that flight operations would recover gradually as airlines repositioned their aircraft and crews. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the air transportation schedule should return to normal by the end of Sunday.
Sources: cbsnews.com