US air travel faced ongoing disruptions after a national ground stop, with FlightAware tracking over 6,600 cancellations on Saturday alongside at least 760 more grounded flights.
The travel chaos follows a four-hour national flight suspension that paralyzed movement nationwide. CNN reported that Delta Air Lines canceled 26% of its scheduled Saturday flights, while American Airlines grounded 42% and United Airlines canceled 26%.
Compounding the travel gridlock, two aircraft collided on the tarmac at Miami International Airport late Saturday evening. Greg Chin, airport communications director, told CNN that two people sustained injuries in the incident.
The collision occurred at approximately 9:15 p.m. local time when the wingtip of a Copa Airlines Boeing 737 struck the nose of a UPS Boeing 767 during taxiing operations, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
“We were taxiing after landing at normal speed when all of a sudden I heard the voices around me become louder, followed by a collective scream and then the impact of another aircraft that hit our” plane, Cesar Ferreira, a Copa passenger, told CNN.
Saturday’s operations saw more than 7,700 domestic and international flight delays across US airspace, with at least 200 additional delays recorded the following day.
Air traffic controllers had instructed the UPS flight crew to yield right-of-way to the incoming Copa aircraft, the Federal Aviation Administration stated. Federal investigators have launched an inquiry to determine the exact sequence of events leading to the runway strike.
“Somebody hit us,” the pilot of the Copa flight radioed air traffic controllers, according to audio recordings from the control tower. When the controller asked the UPS crew if they made contact, the pilot responded, “Yes, we went too far, and then he, he brushed us with his wing.”
Representatives for United Parcel Service confirmed that the shipping carrier is cooperating fully with federal authorities to establish the cause of the ground collision. Copa Airlines issued a similar statement pledging complete cooperation with the ongoing investigation by aviation regulators.
The Federal Aviation Administration continues to review radar data, voice recordings, and airport ground surveillance footage to assign responsibility for the runway incursions.
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