NTSB investigating midair collision in Arizona

  • Two people are confirmed dead after the accident
  • One plane was able to land successfully
  • The airport does not have an operating air traffic control tower

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(NewsNation) — The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating a midair collision between two small planes in Marana, Arizona.

Two people have been confirmed dead following the accident, Marana police confirmed.

The collision took place just before 8:30 a.m. local time near the Marana Regional Airport and involved a Cessna 172S and a Lancair 360 MK II.

Preliminary information shows the planes collided upwind of runway 12. The Cessna was able to land and the Lancair crashed nearby and a fire broke out after impact.

According to the FAA, the airport is an “uncontrolled field” that does not have an air traffic control tower in use. Pilots use a Common Traffic Advisory Frequency to communicate with other planes in the vicinity of the airport.

An NTSB investigator is on the way and anyone who witnessed the accident or who has surveillance video, including doorbell camera video, of the area is encouraged to contact the agency.

The accident is one in a string of several plane crashes since the start of 2025, the largest of which was a midair collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army helicopter that killed 67 people.

Other aviation accidents include a medical jet that crashed in Philadelphia; a plane that crashed in Alaska; a military jet that crashed into the San Diego Bay and a Delta flight that flipped over upon landing in Toronto.

Southwest

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