At least two people died Wednesday in a mid-air collision near an airport in southern Arizona, police said—marking the latest in a string of deadly aviation incidents in the United States.
The Marana Police Department confirmed on Facebook on Wednesday that two people were confirmed dead and both planes were “smaller fixed wing single engine planes.”
The Federal Aviation Administration said in its incident report a Lancair collided mid-air with a Cessna 172 at the Marana Regional Airport—which is about 20 miles north of Tucson, Arizona—around 8:25 a.m. local time Wednesday.
There were two people aboard each plane, the FAA said, adding the Marana Regional Airport “is an uncontrolled field,” meaning it doesn’t have an air traffic control tower.
The FAA classified Wednesday’s crash as a “general aviation” incident, which covers private planes and is different from “commercial aviation.”
The National Transportation Safety Board said in a social media post it was investigating the mid-air collision.
This story is developing and will be updated.
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An uncontrolled field is an airport that does not have an operating ATC control tower, according to ABC 15 Arizona. When a plane is going to or from an airport without an operating control tower, they are supposed to use a common traffic advisory frequency to provide information about their position to other pilots, according to FAA guidelines on non-towered airport operations.
At least 1 dead in Marana plane crash (Fox 10 Phoenix)
Two dead after mid-air plane collision Wednesday at southern Arizona airport (ABC 15 Arizona)