Chaos erupted on the tarmac at Miami International Airport yesterday evening when two planes— one from American Airlines and another from Frontier Airlines— collided, authorities reported. The Frontier plane, parked at the gate and ready for passenger boarding to Dallas, was struck by an American Airlines Boeing 777 backing up, as it prepared for its flight to Sao Paulo, Brazil. As WSVN reported the incident occurred around 8:30 p.m. and was captured in a video posted by Only in Dade. An airport employee is seen in the footage racing to stop the American plane from causing further damage.
While the collision prompted significant delays for passengers, no injuries were reported. Frontier Airlines, determining the extent of the damage to their Airbus A321neo, stated that "Only crew members were on board the Frontier aircraft at the time and no injuries have been reported," according to a statement obtained by WSVN. The Frontier aircraft was promptly grounded for assessment and customer re-accommodation.
American Airlines also released a statement about the incident, confirming that contact occurred during the pushback and adding, "Customers deplaned normally and the aircraft was taken out of service to be inspected by our maintenance team. We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience this caused," as detailed by a WSVN report.
Disappointment was rife among passengers, with one would-be traveler to Texas, Christian Galvez, voicing his frustration. He told WSVN, "There’s like a few hundred of us in the terminal all very, very angry." They told us that an American Airlines plane had clipped the back wing, he said, having spent six hours at the airport. In a CBS News interview, Galvez added that non-residents were offered hotel accommodation and that the flight had been rescheduled for the afternoon.
Financial concerns also loomed for those affected by the mishap. Galvez worried about the potential loss of the fare paid for his thwarted trip, telling WSVN, "If they decide to not refund all of our money, that’s like $500 lost." He had already purchased tickets for various attractions in Texas, which he feared he'd be unable to reclaim.
