Two people lost their lives in a midair collision between two small planes at an Arizona airport on Wednesday, according to local authorities.
The accident involved a Cessna 172S and a Lancair 360 MK II, which collided around 8:28 a.m. near Marana Regional Airport, just northwest of Tucson. The National Transportation Safety Board has shared initial details about the incident.
The two planes collided while flying in the area upwind of runway 12. While the Cessna managed to land safely, the Lancair crashed and burned near the other runway.
The Marana Police Department confirmed the fatalities, with two people aboard each aircraft at the time of the incident. The operator of the Cessna, AeroGuard, a flight training school, reported that its two pilots were unharmed.
The airport is currently closed as investigators work to understand what happened. Marana’s Airport Superintendent, Galen Beem, expressed condolences to the families affected by the tragedy.
Matt Panichas, a spokesperson for AeroGuard, shared his sadness over the two deaths, emphasizing the gravity of this situation.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) classified Marana Regional as an “uncontrolled field.” This means the airport doesn’t have an air traffic control tower, and pilots use a Common Traffic Advisory Frequency to announce their movements. Despite this status, pilots must adhere to federal aviation regulations.
An investigator from the NTSB is scheduled to arrive Thursday morning to examine the crash site and the planes involved. The FAA is also sending officials to the scene.
This incident comes on the heels of several other aviation accidents. For instance, a collision at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in January took 67 lives. Other incidents have included a medevac plane crash in Philadelphia and a plane accident near Nome, Alaska, which killed ten people.
Despite these recent mishaps, preliminary data from January shows a record low in airplane accidents across the U.S. This statistic highlights that major commercial carriers generally have strong safety records. The last significant fatal accident involving a U.S. airline occurred in 2009.
Smaller planes, however, are statistically more prone to accidents. They don’t face the same stringent regulations as larger commercial planes. While private aircraft still undergo inspections and maintenance, the oversight is not as robust as the rules governing major airlines. Moreover, there are far more small planes in the air. The National Air and Space Museum estimates over 340,000 general aviation aircraft exist worldwide, with U.S. pilots operating about 204,000 of them.
This story is still developing, and more updates will be provided as new details emerge.
