Two individuals lost their lives on Wednesday following a midair collision between two small planes in Arizona. This incident marks the second fatal airport crash in the state within a span of nine days. The two aircraft involved, a Lancair 360 MK II and a Cessna 172S, each had two occupants at the time of the collision, which occurred around 8:28 a.m. local time at Marana Regional Airport, as reported by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The Marana Police Department confirmed the fatalities, though the identities of the victims have not yet been released. The collision took place upwind of Runway 12, with the small fixed-wing single-engine planes colliding, according to preliminary information from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
The NTSB, the federal agency spearheading the investigation, reported that the Cessna landed without incident. However, the Lancair crashed near Runway 3, resulting in a post-impact fire. Images captured by bystanders and shared by local news outlets showed large clouds of gray smoke billowing into the sky following the crash.
Marana Regional Airport, located just north of Tucson, is an uncontrolled field, meaning it lacks an operating air traffic control tower, as per the FAA. An NTSB investigator is expected to arrive at the scene on Thursday morning to examine the scene and aircraft. The FAA will also be conducting an investigation.
This incident follows a fatal event at an Arizona airport just 10 days prior, where the pilot of a private jet owned by Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil was killed in a runway collision at Scottsdale Airport. This recent collision is the fifth major fatal aviation crash to make headlines within the past month.
In a series of tragic events, an American Airline flight collided with an Army Black Hawk near Reagan National Airport in Virginia on Jan. 29, resulting in the deaths of all 67 people onboard both aircraft. Shortly after, a medevac jet crashed in Philadelphia, claiming the lives of all six people on the flight and one person on the ground. Additionally, a small aircraft crashed on sea ice off the western coast of Alaska on Feb. 6, killing a pilot and nine passengers. While not fatal, a Delta flight crash-landed and flipped over at Toronto Pearson International Airport, with all 80 passengers and crew safely evacuated, though 18 were hospitalized with minor injuries.