Two people confirmed dead after ‘mid-air collision’ at regional airport
Two people have now been confirmed dead after two planes crashed at a regional airport in the US.
The crash happened at Marana Regional Airport in Arizona at around 8.30am local time, and police and other emergency services are at the scene.
The cause of the crash is still unknown, but Marana Police Department have now confirmed there have been two fatalities.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) confirmed two planes were involved in a ‘mid-air’ collision – a Cessna 172S and a Lancair 360 MK II. There were two people on board each aircraft.
One plane landed uneventfully and the other hit the ground near a runway and caught fire, the NTSB said.
The Marana Police Department confirmed the two people killed were aboard one aircraft, and responders did not have a chance to provide medical treatment. The two people on the other plane were uninjured.
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.’
Marana Police said in a statement: ‘The Marana Police Department is currently on-scene at the Marana Regional Airport located at 11700 W. Avra Valley Rd. in reference to an aircraft collision.
‘Details are limited at this time.
‘Media staging will be in the large dirt parking lot outside of the Marana Regional Airport. FAA and NTSB will be responding.’
Marana airport is uncontrolled, meaning it does not have an air traffic control tower.
Last week, one of two pilots died on a private jet owned by Motley Crue singer Vince Neil after the aircraft veered off a runway in Arizona and hit a business jet.
There have been four major aviation mishaps in North America in the past month.
A commercial jetliner and an Army helicopter collided near Washington DC on January 29, killing 67 people, a medical transport plane crashed in Philadelphia on January 31, killing the six people on board and another person on the ground, 10 were killed in a plane crash in Alaska, and 21 people were injured when a Delta Airlines plane crashed in Toronto.
Aviation safety has been a hot topic in recent weeks after US president Donald Trump fired hundreds of air traffic controllers in the wake of the Washington DC crash.
Metro has contacted Marana Police Department for more details
Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.