Latest news with #Lancair
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Marana deadly mid-air collision: NTSB releases preliminary report
The Brief The National Transportation Safety Board released their preliminary report on March 14. The mid-air crash happened on February 19. MARANA, Ariz. - There are new details about the deadly mid-air collision at theMarana Regional Airport, located near Avra Valley and Sandario Roads that happened last month. What we know Included in the National Transportation Safety Board's report: surveillance photos of the moments the Cessna and Lancair airplanes collided. The report also shows the flight instructor had announced plans to perform a short landing and take off, and saw the other plane coming up from behind. But the crash happened before she could contact the other pilot. The two people onboard the second plane died. The pilot and student in the Cessna were not seriously hurt. What they're saying Witnesses say the pilots could be heard yelling at each other just before the collision, with one of them saying, "You cut me off." The backstory There is no air traffic control tower at Marana Airport, meaning pilots are in charge of communication. On March 6, officials with the Town of Marana released a statement on their website, identifying the crash victims as 70-year-old Michael Reinath and 76-year-old Linda Gifford. The Federal Aviation Administration and NTSB continue to investigate the collision.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Yahoo
Witness heard two pilots 'yelling at each other' before fatal Marana crash, report says
A witness heard two pilots "yelling at each other" over the radio before their airplanes collided over Marana Regional Airport, a new report on the fatal crash showed. "You cut me off," the witness recalled hearing one of the pilots say before one of the airplanes plunged into a ditch near a runway and caught fire, said a Marana police report on the incident released Wednesday to The Arizona Republic. However, the pilot in the second plane, which landed safely, told police she said nothing on the radio just before the collision. Two people died after the impact when one of the airplanes, a Lancair 360 MK II, hit the ground and caught fire. Michael Reinath, 70, the pilot, and 76-year-old Linda Gifford were later identified as the victims. An instructor from a Chandler flight school, Katherine Roos, and a student were in the second plane, a Cessna 172S, which landed safely, according to the report. The crash occurred on a morning in calm weather. Police who drove up to the wreckage at about 8:30 a.m. reported seeing a mangled and "fully engulfed" aircraft with several people near it attempting to use fire extinguishers. Roos told police she and her student had been practicing "stop-and-go" maneuvers in which they would land, come to a complete stop, then hit full throttle to immediately take off again. As they prepared to take off on one of the maneuvers, Roos told police, she heard the Lancair pilot on the radio say he would do a "go-route" and then noticed the airplane coming up behind the Cessna. She assumed it would veer off to one side, which would be the normal practice to ensure airplanes weren't in the same traffic pattern. A "go-around" is an evasive maneuver a pilot may take to abort a landing. Two other witnesses heard a male voice on the radio say he would "go around," so it's possible the officer transcribed Roos' comment incorrectly. Roos "attempted to radio the Lancair to see if the pilot had them in sight, but the radio traffic was busy, and she was not able to transmit and communicate with anyone," the report states. Roos declined comment and hung up when contacted by The Republic for more details on Wednesday. As the Lancair flew above them, the Cessna's propeller "clipped" the Lancair's tail, causing it to barrel roll into the ground. Roos estimated she was about 200 feet off the ground at the time. Joseph Paris, an employee of Tucson Aero Service, told police he was working near a runway when he saw the airplanes close together, one doing a "low fly-by" and the other preparing for takeoff. "They were chattering at each other, yelling at each other, about 'you cut me off,'" the police narrative states. Paris didn't immediately return a phone message on Wednesday. Two other witnesses who heard the radio traffic reported only that they heard a male voice say he would abort his landing and go around again, then a female voice screaming "Mayday!" One of those two witnesses, Erwin Castillo, a flight instructor who was in the air that morning, told The Republic in February that the Lancair pilot sounded "pretty upset," which he thought was odd. Five seconds later, he heard screaming over the radio followed by reports that a plane went down. Contacted again Wednesday, Castillo said he didn't recall any bickering or yelling: The woman said she would perform the stop-and-go, and then came the comment from the man. Castillo believes the problem could have been something like "air rage." "He's in a fast plane and he's trying to land," Castillo said. "Maybe he's trying to prove a point." The Marana airport has no control tower but plans to finish building one by 2029. At uncontrolled airports, pilots are expected to maintain a safe distance from other aircraft and announce their position regularly over the radio on a common frequency. Castillo told The Republic he believed the Cessna had the right of way. Under the law, the Lancair "had priority, if landing, but you're not supposed to force the person to get off the runway." The Cessna instructor's company, AeroGuard Flight Training Center in Deer Valley, referred The Republic to its public relations firm, which released the following statement: "AeroGuard is working closely with the NTSB, local authorities, and safety officials in the ongoing investigation regarding the tragic accident that occurred last month. We cannot provide any further information." The National Transportation Safety Board plans to release a preliminary report on the collision soon. Reach the reporter at rstern@ or 480-276-3237. Follow him on X @raystern. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Report: Witness heard pilot say 'you cut me off' in Marana fatal crash
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Yahoo
Witness heard two pilots 'yelling at each other' before fatal Marana crash, report says
A witness heard two pilots "yelling at each other" over the radio before their airplanes collided over Marana Regional Airport, a new report on the fatal crash showed. "You cut me off," the witness recalled hearing one of the pilots say before one of the airplanes plunged into a ditch near a runway and caught fire, said a Marana police report on the incident released Wednesday to The Arizona Republic. However, the pilot in the second plane, which landed safely, told police she said nothing on the radio just before the collision. Two people died after the impact when one of the airplanes, a Lancair 360 MK II, hit the ground and caught fire. Michael Reinath, 70, the pilot, and 76-year-old Linda Gifford were later identified as the victims. An instructor from a Chandler flight school, Katherine Roos, and a student were in the second plane, a Cessna 172S, which landed safely, according to the report. The crash occurred on a morning in calm weather. Police who drove up to the wreckage at about 8:30 a.m. reported seeing a mangled and "fully engulfed" aircraft with several people near it attempting to use fire extinguishers. Roos told police she and her student had been practicing "stop-and-go" maneuvers in which they would land, come to a complete stop, then hit full throttle to immediately take off again. As they prepared to take off on one of the maneuvers, Roos told police, she heard the Lancair pilot on the radio say he would do a "go-route" and then noticed the airplane coming up behind the Cessna. She assumed it would veer off to one side, which would be the normal practice to ensure airplanes weren't in the same traffic pattern. A "go-around" is an evasive maneuver a pilot may take to abort a landing. Two other witnesses heard a male voice on the radio say he would "go around," so it's possible the officer transcribed Roos' comment incorrectly. Roos "attempted to radio the Lancair to see if the pilot had them in sight, but the radio traffic was busy, and she was not able to transmit and communicate with anyone," the report states. Roos declined comment and hung up when contacted by The Republic for more details on Wednesday. As the Lancair flew above them, the Cessna's propeller "clipped" the Lancair's tail, causing it to barrel roll into the ground. Roos estimated she was about 200 feet off the ground at the time. Joseph Paris, an employee of Tucson Aero Service, told police he was working near a runway when he saw the airplanes close together, one doing a "low fly-by" and the other preparing for takeoff. "They were chattering at each other, yelling at each other, about 'you cut me off,'" the police narrative states. Paris didn't immediately return a phone message on Wednesday. Two other witnesses who heard the radio traffic reported only that they heard a male voice say he would abort his landing and go around again, then a female voice screaming "Mayday!" One of those two witnesses, Erwin Castillo, a flight instructor who was in the air that morning, told The Republic in February that the Lancair pilot sounded "pretty upset," which he thought was odd. Five seconds later, he heard screaming over the radio followed by reports that a plane went down. Contacted again Wednesday, Castillo said he didn't recall any bickering or yelling: The woman said she would perform the stop-and-go, and then came the comment from the man. Castillo believes the problem could have been something like "air rage." "He's in a fast plane and he's trying to land," Castillo said. "Maybe he's trying to prove a point." The Marana airport has no control tower but plans to finish building one by 2029. At uncontrolled airports, pilots are expected to maintain a safe distance from other aircraft and announce their position regularly over the radio on a common frequency. Castillo told The Republic he believed the Cessna had the right of way. Under the law, the Lancair "had priority, if landing, but you're not supposed to force the person to get off the runway." The Cessna instructor's company, AeroGuard Flight Training Center in Deer Valley, referred The Republic to its public relations firm, which released the following statement: "AeroGuard is working closely with the NTSB, local authorities, and safety officials in the ongoing investigation regarding the tragic accident that occurred last month. We cannot provide any further information." The National Transportation Safety Board plans to release a preliminary report on the collision soon. Reach the reporter at rstern@ or 480-276-3237. Follow him on X @raystern. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Report: Witness heard pilot say 'you cut me off' in Marana fatal crash
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
2 victims of Marana plane crash identified. What to know
Marana town officials identified the victims in the Lancair 3600 that crashed last month at the Marana Regional Airport as 70-year-old Michael Reinath and 76-year-old Linda Gifford, according to a statement released on the town's website. The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that two small aircraft, a Lancair and Cessna 172, collided midair on Feb. 19 over the Marana Regional Airport, north of Tucson. The Marana Regional Airport does not have an air traffic control tower, the FAA said. The crash involved two single-engine, fixed-wing aircraft above Marana Regional Airport. Two people were on board each aircraft, and one of the planes was operated by a flight school. The Cessna was on approach when it was struck from behind by the Lancair, the FAA posted on its website. The two people in the Cessna 172 were uninjured in the crash. The plane was operated by the Chandler location of AeroGuard Flight Training Center. The Cessna landed safely. The Lancair crashed near runway 3 and a fire ensued, a National Transportation Safety Board statement said. The NTSB is leading the investigation and receiving help from the Federal Aviation Administration. Airport superintendent Galen Been said, in the news release, "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," and "this is an unprecedented event, and we are grateful for the Marana Police Department and Northwest Fire District." The crash investigation remains ongoing. A crewed tower was supposed to be in place at the Marana airport by the end of 2024 to accommodate an increase in traffic and improve safety. The completion of the tower was pushed back to March 2025 because of supply chain and other problems related to the COVID-19 pandemic, said Vic Hathaway, communications manager for the town of Marana. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Identities of victims in Marana plane crash released
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Yahoo
Police identify 2 people who died in Feb. 19 midair collision at southern Arizona airport
MARANA, Ariz. (AP) — Authorities have publicly identified two people killed two weeks ago in the midair collision of two small planes at a southern Arizona airport. Police say 70-year-old Michael Reinath and 76-year-old Linda Gifford died in the Feb. 19 collision at the Marana Regional Airport on the outskirts of Tucson. Reinath and Gifford lived in Rio Vista, California. Federal Aviation Administration documents say the Lancair 360 MK II involved in the crash was registered to Reinath. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Investigators say each plane had two people aboard when they collided. One plane landed uneventfully and the Lancair with Reinath and Gifford hit the ground near a runway and caught fire. The collision came more than a week after a plane crash in Scottsdale killed one of two pilots of a private jet owned by Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil. That aircraft veered off a runway and hit a business jet. In late January, 67 people were killed in a midair collision in Washington, D.C., involving an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army helicopter, marking the United States' deadliest aviation disaster since 2001. Just a day later, a medical transport jet with a child patient, her mother and four others aboard crashed into a Philadelphia neighborhood on Jan. 31, exploding in a fireball that engulfed several homes. That crash killed seven people, including all those aboard, and injured 19 others.
