Narrative:

We were taxiing from mia spot 13 for runway 27. We were planned for a 26L departure. Ground (121.8) gave us clearance to taxi via whiskey; quebec; [and] runway 27 which was read back by us. With the runway change we needed new takeoff data and our FMC needed to be updated with the new runway assignment. I announced I would be 'heads down' while I programmed the FMC. As we approached the intersection of papa/quebec I came back outside to ensure that we were following our taxi clearance as we approached multiple taxiways and an upcoming runway. From the right side of the aircraft a swift moving airbus (approximately 25 knots) operated by a foreign carrier was moving toward us on quebec. The captain saw the airbus aircraft come into view and smoothly and swiftly brought the aircraft to a stop at the intersection of papa/whiskey as the aircraft continued on quebec. Miami ground (still 121.8) asked us if we could turn left on papa and continue taxi to runway 27. We complied. The airbus aircraft came to a stop on quebec because their ramp or gate was not ready to accept them (they had just landed). We were asked by ground to taxi on papa past the airbus and transition back to quebec to hold short of runway 27 and switch to miami tower. The ground controller never mentioned the near collision and we were somewhat in disbelief that we were not warned of the other aircraft on the same taxi route. Fortunately; the captain saw the merging aircraft avoiding a near taxi disaster. Do not have the north ground controller give taxi clearances to aircraft operating in south structure.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An air carrier crew stopped rapidly on MIA Taxiway Whiskey to avoid colliding with a fast moving foreign carrier's A330 on Quebec. Ground Control gave no traffic warning or acknowledgment of the conflict.

Narrative: We were taxiing from MIA Spot 13 for Runway 27. We were planned for a 26L departure. Ground (121.8) gave us clearance to taxi via Whiskey; Quebec; [and] Runway 27 which was read back by us. With the runway change we needed new takeoff data and our FMC needed to be updated with the new runway assignment. I announced I would be 'heads down' while I programmed the FMC. As we approached the intersection of Papa/Quebec I came back outside to ensure that we were following our taxi clearance as we approached multiple taxiways and an upcoming runway. From the right side of the aircraft a swift moving Airbus (approximately 25 knots) operated by a foreign carrier was moving toward us on Quebec. The Captain saw the Airbus aircraft come into view and smoothly and swiftly brought the aircraft to a stop at the intersection of Papa/Whiskey as the aircraft continued on Quebec. Miami Ground (still 121.8) asked us if we could turn left on Papa and continue taxi to Runway 27. We complied. The Airbus aircraft came to a stop on Quebec because their ramp or gate was not ready to accept them (they had just landed). We were asked by Ground to taxi on Papa past the Airbus and transition back to Quebec to hold short of Runway 27 and switch to Miami Tower. The Ground Controller never mentioned the near collision and we were somewhat in disbelief that we were not warned of the other aircraft on the same taxi route. Fortunately; the Captain saw the merging aircraft avoiding a near taxi disaster. Do not have the North Ground controller give taxi clearances to aircraft operating in south structure.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.