Posted on 02/19/2025 12:01:14 PM PST by Red Badger
The crash happened Wednesday at the Marana Regional Airport in Marana.
At least two people have died after two small single-engine planes collided midair Wednesday morning at an Arizona airport, officials said.
A Lancair 360 MK II and a Cessna 172S collided at the Marana Regional Airport just before 8:30 a.m. local time, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The airport is an uncontrolled field, meaning it does not have an operating air traffic control tower. It is located about 21 miles northwest of Tucson.
The Marana Police Department said in a Facebook post that it was on scene. The National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation.
Both aircraft had two passengers each. Further details were not immediately released.
When an airport has an uncontrolled field pilots utilize a common traffic advisory frequency to regularly announce their position to other pilots who are in the airport vicinity. The pilot-in-command is responsible for maintaining safe separation from other aircraft.
Pilots must still comply with all federal aviation regulations, including minimum visibilities, minimum safe altitudes, and right-of-way rules.
The collision follows several other aircraft crashes including a fiery crash-landing at a Toronto airport, a fatal air ambulance crash in Philadelphia on Jan. 31, and the midair collision between an Army helicopter and a commercial airplane. In that incident, all 67 passengers in both aircraft were killed, making it the deadliest U.S. air crash in almost a quarter century.
Aviation Ping!..............
/s
Future max 9 pilots getting their wings I guess.
Sad.
That’s the message....look at the source.
Good Grief. A 172 pilot should be able to spot another aircraft unless it directly above him and at any rate should have called position even at an uncontrolled field.
Long ago an FAR stated that the Pilot in Command is responsible for and the final authority as to the safety of the passengers and aircraft. Can’t blame the President, tower, FAA, etc. except the one(s) behind the yoke.
Trump’s fault! /sarc In reality, this small airfield apparently does not even have a control tower but relies upon pilots to maintain safety.
I'll withhold comment until more details emerge.
Well, notice that in this case you’ve got a high wing (the 172) and a low wing (the Lancair). That’s by far the most common combination when a mid-air occurs. Highly likely the Lancair was above the 172, since the high wing of the 172 restricts visibility upward, and the low wing of the Lancair restricts visibility downward.
checking own comment, they did not mention weather, visability. P.I.C. is still responsible either way.
Expect Dims to say: Hadn’t Musk fired ALL air traffic controllers, this would not have happened
Good Point..
.
Used to hang around Gillespie Field in San Diego and hoped in a lot of small aircraft for ‘100$ Burgers’...
Lots of Very Safe Pilots But you Had others that you knew were ‘Distracted’
.
Arizona is Beautiful Today!
Hmm there were 1,415 crashes last year. I don’t seem to remember NBC covering those.
A Lanceair is extremely small and speedy. It’s a low wing. Probably the Lanceair was higher and hit the high wing Cessna from behind and above.
Classic high wing/low wing crash.
From video I just saw of the scene...investigators were examining the belly of the 172 between the cabin and the tail. There was no visibile damage to the top of the 172. It was fully intact and I could not see any damage. So what damage is there appears to be on the belly.
Investigators were examining the belly of the 172 from video I just saw of the scene. There did not appear to be any damage to the wings or the vertical stabilizer.
Yeah, Trump’s fault (leftist news) /sarc
And to compound the high wing/low wing issue, radio communication protocols are often poorly followed at small uncontrolled airports.
I absolutely despise “Bonanza 65Alpha Sierra Sierra one mile out, long final, all traffic please advise, Clermont County.”
That kind of radio comm seems to be more and more prevalent.
(35 year pilot)
IFR......I Follow Roads...............
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