At least two people lost their lives on Wednesday when two small aircraft collided in midair over Arizona, making it the second fatal aviation accident in the state within just nine days.
Each plane—a Lancair 360 MK II and a Cessna 172S—had two people onboard when they crashed at approximately 8:28 a.m. local time near Marana Regional Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The Marana Police Department confirmed the deaths of two individuals, though their identities have not yet been released.
According to initial findings from the National Transportation Safety Board, two small single-engine planes collided while upwind of Runway 12.
“The Cessna landed uneventfully,” the NTSB, the federal agency overseeing the investigation, told *The Post.*
“The Lancair impacted terrain near Runway 3 and a post-impact fire ensued.”
Photos shared by KGUN 9 and eyewitnesses captured massive plumes of gray smoke billowing into the sky in the aftermath of the crash.
The airport, located just north of Tucson, operates as an uncontrolled field, meaning there is no active air traffic control tower, according to the FAA.
An NTSB investigator is on the way and is expected to arrive Thursday morning to assess the wreckage and the aircraft. The FAA is also launching its own investigation into the incident.
This marks the second fatal aviation accident at an Arizona airport in just 10 days. On February 10, a private jet owned by Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil was involved in a runway collision at Scottsdale Airport, killing the pilot.
Wednesday’s crash in Arizona is the fifth major fatal aviation accident to make headlines in the past month.
On January 29, an American Airlines flight collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan National Airport in Virginia, resulting in 67 fatalities across both aircraft.
Two days later, a medevac jet went down in Philadelphia, killing all six onboard, along with a person on the ground.
A small plane that was initially reported missing crashed onto sea ice off Alaska’s western coast on February 6, claiming the lives of the pilot and nine passengers.
Although not fatal, a Delta Airlines flight crash-landed and overturned at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday. All 80 passengers and crew members were safely evacuated, though 18 sustained minor injuries and were hospitalized.