(VIDEO) UPS Cargo Jet and Copa Airlines Plane With 172 Aboard Collide on Miami Airport Taxiway

MIAMI — A UPS cargo plane and a Copa Airlines passenger jet carrying 172 people collided on a taxiway at Miami International Airport on Saturday night. Two people suffered minor injuries, and the crash added to safety concerns at one of the country's busiest airports.

The collision happened at about 9:15 p.m., when the left wingtip of the Copa Airlines Boeing 737 struck the nose of the UPS Boeing 767, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

"The wingtip of a Copa Airlines Boeing 737 struck the nose of a UPS Boeing 767 while the airplanes were taxiing," the FAA said in a statement.

The agency said air traffic controllers had told the UPS crew to give way to the Copa jet. The FAA is investigating.

Arriving and Departing Flights

Copa Airlines Flight 427 had just landed from Panama City, Panama, and was taxiing toward the terminal. UPS Flight 358 was taxiing for departure to Bogotá, Colombia.

"At approximately 9:15 p.m., an arriving aircraft and a departing aircraft made contact with each other at the intersection of two taxiways," Greg Chin, the airport's communications director, said in a statement to CBS News Miami.

Copa Airlines said its flight landed in Miami around 9 p.m. The airline said preliminary information showed the cargo plane came into contact with its jet's left wingtip while both aircraft were taxiing.

According to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, the passenger jet was a Boeing 737-800.

Two Minor Injuries

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue treated two people at the scene for minor injuries, according to Miami-Dade Aviation officials. Neither needed to go to the hospital.

UPS said its crew was safe and that it was "committed to working with authorities to determine what happened."

'Did You Hit That Aircraft?'

Air traffic control audio captured the moments after the collision.

"Somebody hit us," the Copa pilot said, according to the recording.

The controller then asked the cargo crew directly: "UPS 358, did you hit that aircraft?"

"Yeah, we went too far, and then he, he clipped us with the wing," the UPS pilot replied.

Earlier in the audio, according to a transcript published by an aviation news site, the controller reminded the UPS crew that they were supposed to give way to the Copa jet. The UPS crew indicated they were running a checklist because of a runway change.

Bloomberg, which also reviewed the audio, reported that the cargo jet had moved into the path of the Copa plane.

Damage to Both Planes

Photos from the scene showed severe damage to the front of the UPS jet. Its nose was crumpled, with a large hole in the panels.

The Copa jet's left wing was also damaged.

Passengers Describe the Jolt

Passengers aboard the Copa flight described a sudden jolt.

"Inside the cabin, we felt the plane jerk abruptly sideways," a passenger identified as Ferreira told CNN.

The passenger said some travelers panicked at first, but the Copa crew quickly got everyone to stay in their seats.

It was not immediately clear how long passengers stayed on the plane or how they were taken to the terminal.

A Troubled Stretch for Miami's Airport

The collision came at a sensitive time for Miami International Airport.

It happened just weeks after a deadly cargo-plane crash there drew attention to air traffic control at the airport. On Sept. 6, a Boeing 767 operated by 21 Air for Amazon ran off the end of a runway while landing after a flight from Puerto Rico, killing five people. All five were inside a van used to shuttle crews that clean planes. Twenty-three other people were injured.

A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board found that an air traffic controller did not warn the cargo pilots about strong tailwinds before clearing them to land, even though regulations require it. Amazon suspended its partnership with 21 Air after the crash.

Aviation observers have also pointed to an earlier close call on a taxiway at the airport on Nov. 5.

Saturday's collision also came a day after a rare nationwide ground stop disrupted U.S. air travel, causing widespread delays and cancellations.

Ground Collisions Draw Scrutiny

Collisions on taxiways, usually at low speeds, are less dangerous than incidents on runways but can still cause serious damage and injuries. Safety experts say they often happen in busy, complex airport layouts, especially at night, when crews must manage tight clearances while following controllers' instructions.

Miami International is one of the busiest airports in the U.S. for both passengers and international cargo, with heavy traffic to and from Latin America and the Caribbean.

The FAA has not said when it expects to finish its investigation or what effect the collision had on other flights.