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Two die as two airplanes collide in the United States
Less than one week after a plane crash killed two people in the United States, another airplane crash has, on February 19, 2025, claimed two lives following a collision between two planes at Marana Regional Airport, Arizona, USA.
According to Marana Police Department, which confirmed the crash, the incident occurred outside Tucson.
Police authorities, in a statement, said that there were occupants in both airplanes at the time of the impact.
The tragic incident occurred in Arizona, when two small planes collided at the Marana Regional Airport, resulting in at least two fatalities.
The planes involved were a Lancair 360 MK II and a Cessna 172S Skyhawk, each carrying two occupants.
The collision happened just before 8:30 a.m. local time, with the Lancair catching fire after impact.
However, the Cessna landed safely.
The Marana Police Department and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said that they are investigating the incident.
Notably, the Marana Regional Airport does not have an active air traffic control tower.
This means that pilots must communicate via a common traffic advisory frequency to announce their position to other pilots in the area.
A new air traffic control tower was planned to be completed by the end of 2024.
However, due to pandemic-related delays, the project has been pushed back to 2029.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing massive smoke from the crash site Wednesday as emergency services rushed to the scene.
Police authorities confirmed 2 dead
Local authorities later confirmed the death of two persons, whose identities are yet to be released.
In its first statement, the Marana Police Department said:
“The Marana Police Department is currently on-scene at the Marana Regional Airport located at 11700 W. Avra Valley Rd. in reference to an aircraft collision.
“The incident is still under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
“The FAA will examine safety and regulatory issues, while the NTSB will focus on the circumstances leading to the crash.”
Recent aviation disasters
The incident one of the recent series of aviation disasters in the United States.
On Monday, a Delta Airlines flight in Toronto flipped upside down, leaving passengers hanging with fuel leaking through the windows.
Nineteen of the 21 injured passengers have since been discharged from the hospital.
Last month, a collision between a military helicopter over the Potomac River in Washington, claimed the lives of 67 people.
The crash, which occurred on January 29, halted operations at Ronald Reagan National Airport.
Last Monday, in Arizona a plane carrying Mötley Crüe’s Vince Neil crashed at Scottsdale Airport.
Another fatal crash had occurred in Georgia on Saturday night, where a small aircraft plunged into woodland minutes after takeoff from the Covington Municipal Airport. Two lives were lost.
FAA and NTSB are leading inquiries into the causes of these accidents as investigations into these incidents are still ongoing.
Authorities regret that despite efforts, the airport remains an uncontrolled field.
That means it does not, as yet, have operational air traffic control tower.
Pilots at such airports are expected to use a common traffic advisory frequency to announce their positions to other pilots in the vicinity.
The Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation into the incident.
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