UPS Cargo Plane and Copa Airlines Jet Collide at Miami Airport

MIAMI - A UPS Boeing 767 cargo plane and a Copa Airlines Boeing 737-800NG passenger jet carrying 172 people collided at a taxiway intersection at Miami International Airport on Nov. 14. What happened? Copa Airlines Flight 427 from Panama City had landed at Miami International Airport and was taxiing toward the terminal with 166 passengers and six crew members when the cargo plane contacted its left wingtip. UPS Flight 358 had been scheduled to depart Miami for Bogota, Colombia, and sustained nose damage in the low-speed collision while the passenger jet safely reached its gate. "At approximately 9:15 p.m., an arriving aircraft and a departing aircraft made contact with each other at the intersection of two taxiways," Miami International Airport communications director Greg Chin told CBS News Miami. Paramedics evaluated two passengers for apparent minor injuries, and neither required hospitalization. Why does it matter? The ground collision occurred while Miami International Airport managed heavy congestion following a rare nationwide ground stop ordered by the Federal Aviation Administration on Nov. 13. Aging air traffic control routers and switches overloaded with data had disrupted radar and communications systems nationwide, forcing thousands of flight delays and aircraft repositioning challenges. Airport officials directed other aircraft to alternative taxiways, avoiding wider terminal closures. What comes next? Copa Airlines stated it is cooperating fully with federal aviation authorities as the Federal Aviation Administration investigates the taxiway contact. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy cautioned that recovery from the nationwide ground stop remains gradual, while FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford projected U.S. airline schedules would return to normal by late Nov. 15.