On Wednesday morning, two small planes collided over Marana Regional Airport in southern Arizona, resulting in the tragic death of two people.
Federal investigators reported that both planes had two occupants. A Cessna 172 managed to land safely, while a Lancair 360 MK II crashed and caught fire shortly after hitting the ground. The National Transportation Safety Board is currently leading the investigation, although details are still unfolding.
According to Marana Police, the two fatalities were in one of the aircraft. Medical responders were unable to reach them in time. The Cessna was operated by AeroGuard, a commercial flight training school, whose two pilots were not hurt during the incident.
Neither plane was based at Marana airport. Local firefighters responded quickly to extinguish the flames from the crash. AeroGuard expressed their sorrow over the incident, emphasizing their support for the families affected.
This incident follows another recent crash in Scottsdale, which claimed one pilot’s life. Additionally, there have been several serious aviation incidents in North America recently, including a Delta jet flipping over during landing in Toronto and a deadly commuter plane crash in Alaska.
In January, a significant midair collision in Washington, D.C., killed 67 people in total, marking one of the deadliest aviation events in the U.S. since 2001. A day later, a medical jet crash in Philadelphia resulted in seven fatalities, including a child patient and her mother.
Marana airport operates without an air traffic control tower, which has led to a planned multimillion-dollar project for construction. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has delayed these plans. Despite the lack of a tower, the airport manages numerous flights every year, with pilots using a common radio frequency to communicate their intentions for taking off and landing.
Jeff Guzzetti, an airline safety consultant and former FAA investigator, noted that the absence of an air traffic control tower does not inherently pose safety risks. He emphasized that all pilots are responsible for maintaining visual awareness to avoid collisions.
This story has been updated for accuracy regarding casualty numbers from a previous incident in Washington, D.C.
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Plane crashes, Tucson, Arizona, General news, AZ State Wire, Vincent Rizzi, Matt Panichas, Vince Neil, U.S. news, Associated Press, National Transportation Safety Board, Susan Montoya Bryan, Jeff Guzzetti
