Abstract:
A Copa Airliner collided with a UPS cargo plane while taxiing at Miami International Airport, according to air traffic controller call records. A recording of the call between air traffic controllers and pilots released by ATC.com showed that the Copa Airlines passenger plane was scratched after a UPS Boeing 767 freighter entered its route. Air traffic controllers said the UPS cargo plane should have avoided the Copa Airline Boeing 737 that had just landed from Panama.
According to Flightradar24, the UPS pilot said in response to an air traffic controller's inquiry about whether he had hit Copa Flight 427: "We flew too far, and then his wing rubbed us." The collision occurred at around 9 p.m. local time.
UPS did not immediately respond to a request for comment made outside regular business hours. The reporter contacted Copa Airlines through its investor relations department, but the company did not immediately respond.
The accident occurred a day after a technical problem caused the longest nationwide grounding in more than 20 years. Relevant authorities blamed data overload, which paralyzed air traffic control communications and radar systems.
According to aviation data company FlightAware, as of 10:40 pm New York time on Saturday, more than 6,500 flights in and out of the United States, especially within the United States, have been canceled, and another 8,200 flights have been delayed.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he will formally ask Congress on Monday to approve $50 billion in emergency funds to comprehensively revamp the U.S. air traffic control system.
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