Planes collide at Miami runway crossing immediately after national grounding is lifted

Detailed summary

The wingtip of a Copa Airlines jet struck the nose of a UPS jet while the planes were taxiing on the tarmac Saturday night, according to the FAA

Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today.

Two planes collided at a runway crossing at Miami International Airport immediately after a national flight grounding that prompted travel chaos was lifted.

The wingtip of a Boeing 737 jet from Latin American carrier Copa Airlines struck the nose of a Boeing 767 used for UPS deliveries while the planes were taxiing on the tarmac Saturday night, the Federal Aviation Administration told The Independent. The agency said it was investigating the crash.

“We were taxiing after landing at a normal speed when, all of a sudden, I heard the chatter around me getting louder, followed by a collective scream and then the impact of another aircraft hitting ours,” Cesar Ferreira, a passenger on the Copa Airlines flight, told CNN.

“Inside the cabin, we felt the plane jerk abruptly sideways. At first, some passengers started freaking out, but the Copa crew reacted quickly, getting everyone to remain seated.”

Two people were treated for minor injuries, Greg Chin, the airport’s communications director, told The Independent.

The crash came a day after federal officials lifted a ground stop for all airports in the country following a technical failure that affected the air traffic control system.

For more than four hours on Friday, air traffic came to a halt, leaving thousands of travelers stranded at airports, and even on planes that were set to take off moments before the flight grounding.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the technical failure stemmed from a contractor replacing old copper wire on telecommunication lines, adding that federal officials were investigating whether the contractor’s “incompetence” or a faulty router was the cause.

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