At least one dead as business jets collide at US airport

At least one person died when a business jet smashed into another plane after landing at a US airport Monday, authorities said, the latest in a string of deadly aviation accidents in the United States.

One person remained trapped inside one of the planes at Scottsdale Airport in Arizona, with three others taken to hospital.

Pictures from the scene showed a jet appeared to have slammed into the back of a larger plane, with emergency vehicles on hand.


"A Learjet 35A veered off the runway after landing and crashed into a Gulfstream 200 business jet on the ramp at Scottsdale Municipal Airport in Arizona," a spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) said.

"We do not know how many people were on board. The FAA is temporarily pausing flights into the airport."

Dave Folio, of the Scottsdale Fire Department, said units were on the runway trying to free one person.

"I can tell you that we have five souls, one dead on arrival at hospital, two immediate that have been transported to local trauma centers," he told a press conference.

One other person whose condition he described as stable was also taken to the hospital.

The crash was the latest in a series of aviation tragedies that have rocked the United States.

On January 30, a passenger jet collided in midair with a US Army helicopter in Washington, killing all 67 people aboard both aircraft.

The disaster was followed rapidly by the crash of a medical plane into a busy Philadelphia neighborhood, killing seven and injuring 19.

Last week a small plane with 10 people on board crashed as it flew between two remote settlements in Alaska. There were no survivors.