‘Somebody hit us’: Recording captures pilot's words as two planes collide at Miami airport

Detailed summary

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reportedly said air traffic controllers had instructed the UPS crew to give way to the Copa Airlines flight.

Air traffic controllers had specifically instructed a UPS cargo aircraft to give way to a Copa Airlines passenger plane before the two planes collided while taxiing at Miami International Airport on Saturday and left two people injured, according to a report.

The wingtip of the Copa Airlines aircraft struck the nose of the UPS Boeing 767 after the cargo plane moved into its path, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and audio recordings of conversations between pilots and air traffic controllers.

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The FAA said air traffic controllers had instructed the UPS crew to give way to the Copa Airlines flight, CNN reported.

The passenger flight was carrying 166 passengers and six crew. Two people were injured in the incident, Greg Chin, the airport’s communications director, told the news outlet.

“Somebody hit us,” the Copa Airlines pilot reportedly said in an air traffic control recording. The controller then asked the UPS crew whether their aircraft had made contact with another plane.

The UPS pilot responded, “Yeah, we went too far, and then he, he clipped us with the wing,” as per the recording.

Later, the Copa pilot reportedly said, “It seems that we are missing the left wingtip.”

UPS said it was “committed to working with authorities to determine what happened” and confirmed that its crew was safe.

Opening of the article, excerpted from Hindustan Times. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.