Aircrafts collide in midair near Arizona airport; 2 reported dead

MARANA, Ariz. (NEXSTAR) — The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating a deadly craft collision adjacent the Marana Regional Airport successful Marana, Arizona.

Police successful Marana archetypal confirmed quality of the deadly incidental conscionable earlier 12 p.m. MST connected Wednesday. They had initially reported "at least" 1 fatality, but 2 radical were aboriginal confirmed to beryllium dead, the Associated Press reported.

"Details are constricted astatine this time," the section said successful a Facebook post.

Both the FAA and NTSB aboriginal confirmed a midair collision betwixt the 2 tiny planes — a Lancair 360 MK and a Cessna 172 — astatine conscionable aft 8:25 a.m. There were 2 radical successful each plane, the FAA said.

Following the collision, the Cessna landed "uneventfully" astatine the airport, portion the Lancair crashed adjacent a runway, wherever "a post-impact occurrence ensued," the NTSB said.

The FAA further noted that Marana Regional Airport is considered an "uncontrolled field," meaning it does not person an aerial postulation power (ATC) tower. Rather, pilots flying successful the tract are liable for communicating their positions to different craft operators.

Both agencies volition beryllium investigating the origin of the crash. The NTSB is besides asking immoderate witnesses to interaction the bureau astatine witness@ntsb.gov.

Marana Regional Airport did not instantly respond to Nexstar's petition for comment.

There person been aggregate large aviation disasters successful North America successful the past month, with the astir caller involving a Delta pitchy that flipped connected its roof while landing successful Toronto and the deadly clang of a commuter level successful Alaska. In precocious January, 67 radical aboard an American Airlines rider were killed erstwhile an Army chopper collided with it successful Washington, D.C., marking the country’s deadliest aviation disaster since 2001. Just a time later, a medical transport jet with a kid patient, her mother, and 4 others aboard crashed into a Philadelphia vicinity connected Jan. 31, exploding successful a fireball that engulfed respective homes. That clang killed 7 people, including each those aboard and a idiosyncratic connected the crushed successful a vehicle, and injured 19 others.

This is simply a processing story. The Associated Press contributed to this report.