Latest news with #MattPanichas
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Plane that landed after midair collision in Marana was operated by a flight school
One of the two planes involved in a fatal midair collision Wednesday at a regional airport north of Tucson was operated by a flight school. The plane was operated by the Chandler location of AeroGuard Flight Training Center. The two pilots on the Cessna 172S plane were not injured, said Matt Panichas, senior vice president of KWT Global, a public relations firm based in New York City. Panichas did not say if either of the two pilots aboard the Cessna was a student. Two people were killed following the collision at the Marana Regional Airport about 20 miles northwest of Tucson and west of Interstate 10, officials said. Authorities have not identified the two people killed in the collision. The second plane was a Lancair 360 MK II, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, which is investigating the collision along with the National Transportation Safety Board. The Cessna was on approach when it was struck from behind by the Lancair, the FAA posted on its website Thursday. After the collision, the Lancair crashed, which caused a fire, the FAA said. Marana crash: A midair plane collision near Tucson killed 2 people The Lancair is owned by a northern California resident, the FAA website said. The Lancair 360 MK II is an amateur-built fixed-wing aircraft, the FAA website said. It is a single-engine two-seat aircraft, according to the company's website. The Cessna 172S is a single-engine, four-seat aircraft, according to the Cessna website. AeroGuard has two flight school locations in Arizona, one at the Chandler Municipal Airport and one at the Deer Valley Airport, according to the school's website. AeroGuard also has a location in Austin, Texas, Panichas said. AeroGuard trains pilots for leading airlines, "providing students with a direct path to their careers," Panichas said in a written statement. The collision occurred about 8:28 a.m. Wednesday, the NTSB said. The Marana Regional Airport does not have an air traffic control tower, the FAA said. A crewed tower was supposed to be in place 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. Growing airport: Where is the Marana airport? What to know about site of fatal crash This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: One of 2 planes in fatal midair collision operated by flight school
Arab Times
20-02-2025
- General
- Arab Times
2 dead in small plane collision at a southern Arizona airport
WASHINGTON, Feb 20, (AP): A midair collision involving two small planes in southern Arizona killed two people Wednesday morning, authorities said. Federal air-safety investigators said each plane had two people aboard when they collided at Marana Regional Airport on the outskirts of Tucson. A Cessna 172 landed uneventfully and a Lancair 360 MK II hit the ground near a runway and caught fire, according to the National Transportation Safety Board, which is leading the investigation and cited preliminary information before its investigators had arrived. The Marana Police Department confirmed that the two people killed were aboard one aircraft and said responders did not have a chance to provide medical treatment. Police did not identify which plane they were in, but the operator of the Cessna -AeroGuard, a commercial flight training school - said its two pilots were not injured. Neither plane was based out of the Marana airport, the city said. The municipal fire department helped extinguish flames, said Marana police Sgt. Vincent Rizzi. AeroGuard spokesperson Matt Panichas declined to comment on specifics of the collision but said it's working closely with the investigative agencies. "We are deeply saddened by the two fatalities from this tragic accident, and our thoughts and prayers are with their families and loved ones during this difficult time,' Panichas said in a statement to The Associated Press. 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. It also followed four major aviation disasters that have occurred in North America in the last month. The most recent involved a Delta jet that flipped on its roof while landing in Toronto and the deadly crash of a commuter plane in Alaska. 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, exploding in a fireball that engulfed several homes. That crash killed seven people, including all those aboard, and injured 19 others. The airport in Marana has two intersecting runways and operates without an air traffic control tower.
Asharq Al-Awsat
20-02-2025
- Asharq Al-Awsat
2 People Dead in Small Plane Collision at Southern Arizona Airport
A midair collision involving two small planes in southern Arizona killed two people Wednesday morning, authorities said. Federal air-safety investigators said each plane had two people aboard when they collided at Marana Regional Airport on the outskirts of Tucson, The Associated Press reported. A Cessna 172 landed uneventfully and a Lancair 360 MK II hit the ground near a runway and caught fire, according to the National Transportation Safety Board, which is leading the investigation and cited preliminary information before its investigators had arrived. The Marana Police Department confirmed that the two people killed were aboard one aircraft and said responders did not have a chance to provide medical treatment. Police did not identify which plane they were in, but the operator of the Cessna —AeroGuard, a commercial flight training school — said its two pilots were not injured. Neither plane was based out of the Marana airport, the city said. The municipal fire department helped extinguish flames, said Marana police Sgt. Vincent Rizzi. AeroGuard spokesperson Matt Panichas declined to comment on specifics of the collision but said it's working closely with the investigative agencies. 'We are deeply saddened by the two fatalities from this tragic accident, and our thoughts and prayers are with their families and loved ones during this difficult time,' Panichas said in a statement to The Associated Press. 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. It also followed four major aviation disasters that have occurred in North America in the last month. The most recent involved a Delta jet that flipped on its roof while landing in Toronto and the deadly crash of a commuter plane in Alaska. 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, exploding in a fireball that engulfed several homes. That crash killed seven people, including all those aboard, and injured 19 others.
