Small Planes Crash In Midair Over Arizona Airport, Killing 2: What We Know

Small plane crash in Arizona

At least two people are dead following a mid-air crash at an airport in Arizona. This comes just over a week since the last deadly plane crash in the state.

Two people were killed Wednesday morning when two small airplanes crashed in midair at a regional airport in southern Arizona – the latest in a series of North American aviation disasters in recent weeks.

The crash, which occurred at the Marana Regional Airport, about 21 miles northwest of Tucson, is also the second fatal aviation mishap this month in Arizona.

Details about the victims and the circumstances that preceded the crash remained slim Thursday morning, nearly 24 hours later.

Here's everything to know so far:

The crash involved two fixed-wing, single-engine aircraft, Vincent Rizzi, a Marana Police Department sergeant, told the Arizona Republic, a USA TODAY Network publication.

One of the airplanes has been identified as a Cessna 172S and the other as a Lancair 360 MK II.

The collision occurred around 8:30 a.m. over a runway at the Marana Regional Airport. While the Cessna landed safely, the Lancair crashed near another runway, sparking a fire that sent plumes of smoke into the air, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a written statement to the Republic.

Marana Airport Superintendent Galen Beem described the crash as "an unprecedented event" in a statement.

“On behalf of the Town of Marana and the Marana Regional Airport, our hearts go out to all the individuals and families impacted by this event,” Beem said in a written statement shared in a news release from the Marana police.

The airport remained closed as of Wednesday afternoon, police said in the latest post on social media.

Two people were on board each aircraft, the Marana town government posted on Facebook.

Rizzi told the Republic that the two aboard the Cessna that landed safely were not severely injured, meaning both those on the Lancair were killed in the crash.

Authorities had not publicly identified any of the victims in the crash as of Thursday morning.

The Marana Regional Airport, which is mostly used for leisure flights, is located in a rural area surrounded by farm fields and desert brush.

The airport is also home to two flight schools.

The two aircraft involved in the fatal crash were not among the 259 aircraft based at the airport, Vic Hathaway, communications manager for the town of Marana, told the Republic.

The National Transportation Safety Board confirmed on social media site X it was investigating the crash. Marana officials indicated Wednesday that further information would come from the NTSB.

Both the NTSB and the FAA released seperate statement Thursday morning to USA TODAY confirming details about the crash.

An investigator with the NTSB was expected to arrive Thursday at the airport to examine the crash site and the aircraft itself, which will eventually be moved to a secure facility, the agency said. A preliminary report is expected within 30 days.

The regional airport is what's known as an "uncontrolled field," meaning it does not have an air traffic control tower, according to the FAA.

At uncontrolled airports, pilots use a common traffic advisory frequency to regularly announce their position to other pilots who are in the airport vicinity, the agency said. Pilots operating in uncontrolled fields also must still comply with all FAA regulations, including maintaining visibility and safe altitudes.

While a crewed tower was supposed to be in place by the end of 2024 to accommodate an increase in traffic and improve safety, its construction was delayed, Hathaway told the Republic. That delay was mostly related to supply chain issues stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, she added.

Although experts have said air travel remains extremely safe, the crash is at least the sixth major aviation disaster of 2025 in North America, USA TODAY reported.

That includes a high-profile deadly crash in Washington DC on Jan. 29 in which a military Black Hawk helicopter collided in midair with an American Airlines regional jet, killing 67 people near Ronald Reagan National Airport. It was the first fatal crash of a U.S. airliner in nearly 16 years.

Just days after the crash near Washington, D.C., a medical jet carrying a child patient crashed into a Philadelphia neighborhood. Seven people died, including all six on board the aircraft and another in a car on the ground.

The Arizona crash also comes days after 18 people were injured when a Delta Airlines regional jet crash landed upside down Monday in Toronto.

Another 10 people were killed earlier this month when a small plane crashed in Alaska after experiencing a rapid loss of altitude and speed. The aircraft, heading from the village of Unalakleet to the town of Nome, was initially reported missing before it was later recovered.

The crash is also the second fatal aviation incident this month in Arizona after one person was killed Feb. 10 when two private jets collided on a runway at Scottsdale Airport.

Another four people were injured when a Learjet owned by Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil veered off the runway and hit a parked Gulfstream jet at the small municipal airport, officials said. While the investigation revealed that it appeared the plane's landing gear had failed, no official cause of the crash had been announced.

Neil was not among the two passengers and two pilots on board the Learjet during the crash. One person was aboard the other Gulfstream jet.

This article has been updated to add new information.

Contributing: Christopher Cann, USA TODAY