2 dead after small planes collide midair at US airport

Authorities said they were investigating the deadly collision that happened at the Marana Regional Airport, northwest of Tucson, on Wednesday.

The Federal Aviation Administration said two single-engine planes, a Lancair 360 MK II and a Cessna 172S, collided just before 8:30 a.m. local time.

It added that the regional airport where the crash happened is an “uncontrolled field”, meaning it does not have an operating air traffic control tower.

Both aircraft had two passengers on board each.

The accident comes weeks after a midair collision between an Army helicopter and a commercial airplane in Washington, in which all 67 passengers aboard both aircraft were killed, making it the deadliest U.S. air crash in almost a quarter century.

MNA