'Somebody Hit Us': Two Plane Collide At Miami Airport, Air Traffic Control Audio Captures Pilot's Reaction

A UPS cargo plane and a Copa Airlines passenger jet struck each other while moving along the airport's taxiways on Saturday night, November 14. The incident left two people with minor injuries and prompted an investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The collision occurred when the wingtip of the Copa Airlines Boeing 737 struck the nose of the UPS Boeing 767. The passenger aircraft had arrived from Panama City, while the cargo plane was preparing to depart for Bogota, Colombia.

The Copa Airlines aircraft was carrying 166 passengers and six crew members when the collision took place. It was taxiing towards its gate after arriving from Panama City, while the UPS cargo aircraft was preparing for its scheduled departure to Bogota.

According to the FAA, air traffic controllers had instructed the UPS crew to give way to the approaching Copa Airlines flight. However, the two aircraft made contact at the intersection of two taxiways. Audio recordings of the air traffic control communications captured the moments immediately after the incident.

A Copa Airlines pilot alerted the controller, saying, "Somebody hit us." When the air traffic controller asked the UPS crew whether their aircraft had struck the passenger jet, the pilot acknowledged the collision. "Yeah, we went too far, and then he, he clipped us with the wing," the UPS pilot responded.

The Copa Airlines pilot subsequently indicated that the aircraft might have sustained damage to its left wingtip, saying, "It seems that we are missing the left wingtip." Copa Airlines confirmed that two people received medical attention from airport paramedics following the incident.

Both were believed to have sustained minor injuries and did not require hospitalisation. In a statement, the airline said, "The aircraft is at the terminal and all passengers have disembarked. Two of them received attention from airport paramedics for what, preliminarily, appear to be minor injuries." The airline also confirmed that the remaining passengers and all six crew members were in "good condition".

Despite the incident, airport operations continued without major disruption. Miami International Airport officials confirmed that flights were being redirected to alternative taxiways while authorities responded to the collision.

The FAA has launched an investigation to establish the exact circumstances surrounding the incident. The collision also comes amid a challenging period for US aviation. Airports and airlines across the country have been dealing with operational difficulties following a nationwide air traffic control disruption on Friday, November 13.

The FAA had ordered a nationwide ground stop after communication problems affected several air traffic control centres, bringing almost all departing flights to a halt for nearly five hours. Although the restriction was lifted later that evening, airlines continued to experience delays as they worked to reposition aircraft and flight crews.

The latest collision comes just over two months after another serious aviation accident at Miami International Airport. On September 6, an Amazon cargo plane, also a Boeing 767, overran the runway after arriving from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The aircraft struck vehicles before catching fire, killing five people and injuring five others. Devyani Nautiyal is a Copy Editor at ABP Live English with a strong focus on entertainment journalism. She specialises in Bollywood, Hollywood, celebrity news, global pop culture trends, and box office reports.

Her work centres on fast-paced digital journalism and audience-first entertainment content.