Two small single-engine planes were involved in a crash midair Wednesday morning at an Arizona airport, officials said.
Federal Aviation Administration reported that a Lancair 360 MK II and a Cessna 172S collided at Marana Regional Airport, an uncontrolled field with no operating air traffic control tower, just before 8:30 a.m. local time.
The airport also serves as a flight training ground.
The number of non-towered airports in the States is around 20,000. Pilots operating in such airports announce their position to other pilots using a Common Traffic Advisory Frequency.
As police rushed to the scene, one of the aircraft appeared to be intact.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the two single-engine planes collided while “upwind of runway 12” at the small Arizona regional airport, which has two runways.
The Cessna failed to land successfully, while the Lancair “impacted terrain near runway 3, triggering a post-impact fire.”
Each plane was carrying two passengers.
The crash claimed the lives of two people who were in the same plane.
In statement, Marana Regional Airport Superintendent Galen Beem said, “On behalf of the Town of Marana and the Marana Regional Airport, our hearts go out to all the individuals and families impacted by this event. This is an unprecedented event, and we are grateful for the swift response from the Marana Police Department and Northwest Fire District.”
Tragically, this crash is the latest in a string of aviation accidents in recent weeks.
Last month, a devastating mid-air collision over Reagan International Airport claimed 67 lives when an American Airlines plane collided with a Black Hawk U.S. Army helicopter.
In another heartbreaking incident, a medical jet crash took the lives of everyone on board, including a young girl who was returning to Mexico after undergoing life-saving surgery in Philadelphia.
Just days before the Arizona accident, a plane flipped upside down while landing in Toronto. Miraculously, no one was injured in that incident.
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