Two dead in small plane collision at southern Arizona Airport

A midair collision between two small planes in southern Arizona resulted in two casualties.  Authorities confirmed that both victims died instantly and could not receive medical treatment.

The National Transportation Safety Board reported that a Cessna 172 landed uneventfully, while a Lancair 360 MK II crashed near Marana Regional Airport at 8:28 am (local time) and caught fire, causing the fatal collision.

The two planes collided midair over runway 12 of the airport. Each victim was the sole occupant of their respective aircraft.

The Marana Police Department confirmed the fatalities but did not specify which plane the victims were in.  However, the operator of Cessna —AeroGuard, a commercial flight training school — said its two pilots were not wounded.

It added that neither plane was based at the Marana airport. No information about the victim was provided.

“We are deeply saddened by the two fatalities from this tragic accident, and our thoughts and prayers are with their families and loved ones during this difficult time,” Associate Press quoted a spokesperson of AeroGuard, Matt Panichas, who denied comment on specific of collision.

Read: Plane crashes, lands upside down at Toronto Airport

Notably, Marana Regional Airport has an “uncontrolled field”, as it doesn’t have an operating air traffic tower and pilots normally use common traffic advisory Frequency to announce their position to other pilots flying in the vicinity of the airport.

The recent deadly clash followed a string of aviation-related incidents. 

On Monday, a Delta Airlines flight in Toronto skidded along the runway, burst into flames, and then flipped over, coming to a dramatic halt upside down. All 80 people on board survived.

Last month a helicopter collided with an American Airlines passenger plane in Washington DC, leaving all passengers and three crew members dead. 

In the same week, a small medical transport plane crashed into several buildings in Philadelphia, US, killing all six people on board and at least one person on the ground.