21-02-2025
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
