Two die after planes collide in Arizona near Marana airport that functions without air traffic control tower

Plane Crash US Arizona: Within a few days of the Delta plane crash, a midair collision involving two small planes in southern Arizona killed at least two people Wednesday morning, authorities said.

Federal air-safety investigators said two people were on board each plane as they collided near Marana Regional Airport on the outskirts of Tucson. One plane landed uneventfully with the other hit the ground near a runway and catching fire, the National Transportation Safety Board said, based on preliminary information before its investigators had arrived.

Rising plane crashes In US:

Last week in Arizona, one of two pilots died on a private jet owned by Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil after the aircraft veered off a runway in Scottsdale and hit a business jet.


Four major aviation disasters 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 aboard an American Airlines passenger were killed when an Army helicopter collided with it in Washington, D.C., 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.

The airport in Marana has two intersecting runways but operates without an air traffic control tower.

A multimillion-dollar project was underway to build a tower but delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic pushed back construction. Tens of thousands of flights arrive and depart from the airport annually.

Airport without air traffic control tower

The airport in Marana has two intersecting runways and operates without an air traffic control tower.

A multimillion-dollar project was underway to build a tower but delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic pushed back construction. Tens of thousands of flights arrive and depart from the airport annually.

Most airports in the U.S. do not have air traffic control towers, only those with commercial traffic coming in.

At those airspaces, pilots use a designated radio channel to announce intentions for landing and taking off, said Jeff Guzzetti, an airline safety consultant and a former Federal Aviation Administration and NTSB investigator.

Just because an airport doesn’t have a control tower doesn’t mean it’s unsafe, he said.

“All the pilots should be broadcasting on this common traffic advisory frequency. And there’s also a responsibility to see and avoid. Each pilot is responsible to see and avoid so they don’t collide with each other,” Guzzetti said.