Arizona Plane Crashes Kill 6 People

Six people were killed on Sunday in separate crashes after two small planes went down in northern Arizona, media reports said Monday.

The first crash took place near Sedona, a city in the northern Verde Valley region, killing four people on board the single-engine plane, media reports said, citing the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office. The Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, reportedly said that hikers in the Bear Mountain area, west of Sedona, reported the crash and a possible fire at 6:00 p.m. EDT.

The sheriff’s office reportedly said that after searching for the wreckage for hours, the U. S. Forest Service found the plane at about 9:00 p.m. EDT. The bodies of the dead were also recovered, but their identities are yet to be revealed.

According to media reports, the fire, which is being called the Fay Fire, is burning in the Red Rock-Secret Mountain Wilderness area of Fay Canyon and had grown to 20 acres by early evening. The U.S. Forest Service also reportedly said that several firefighters responded to the scene, including four hotshot crews, two helicopters, an air-attack unit and the Sedona Fire Department.

The Red Rock News, a local newspaper, said that there is a temporary roadblock at Boynton Pass and Boynton Canyon roads.

According to Associated Press, another plane crashed in Arizona’s Mohave County, about 160 miles northwest of Sedona, killing two people. The crash reportedly occurred at 9:30 p.m. EDT, Salt Lake City's KSL-TV reported, citing Sgt. John T. Bottoms of the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

The fire was extinguished by water backpacks used by rescuers who had hiked to reach the plane, Bottoms reportedly said.

The FAA reportedly said that the plane was on fire after it crashed and it went down "under unknown circumstances."

The details about the planes and the passengers were not revealed while reports said that the FAA and the National Transport Safety Board will investigate both the crashes.