Two planes have crashed at an airport in Arizona and left at least one person dead, police have confirmed.
Massive plumes of smoke were seen billowing from the crash site this morning as emergency service teams raced to the scene to investigate. The Marana Police Department later confirmed at least one person was killed in an “aircraft collision” involving two planes.
The force 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. There has been at least 1 confirmed deceased individual. Details are limited at this time. Media staging will be in the large dirt parking lot outside of the Marana Regional Airport. FAA and NTSB will be responding.”
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are typically the first port of call for aviation accidents in the US. The FAA will look at safety and regulation, while the NTSB will work to establish the cause of the crash.
It is the latest accident in a string of recent air travel disasters sweeping the US. On Monday, passengers on board a Delta Airlines flight were left dangling upside down with fuel running down the windows and smoke filling the cabin when their plane flipped over in Toronto. All 80 people on board were evacuated – and 19 of the 21 passengers that were taken to hospital have now been discharged, Delta Airlines said.
Last month, 67 people died after an American Airlines Flight 5342 collided with a military helicopter and plunged into the Potomac River in Washington DC. The doomed jet, travelling in from Wichita, Kansas, was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members when it smashed into the Army chopper carrying three soldiers on Wednesday, January 29.
Ronald Reagan National Airport came to a standstill and halted all take-offs and landings following the fireball smash, believed to have happened at around 9pm local time.
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