KEY POINTS

  • Early investigations suggest the Piper PA-46 collided with the Cessna 172 while it prepared to land
  • Each plane carried two people, and all four died in the collision
  • Two other aircraft-related incidents resulted in casualties over the weekend

A collision of two planes at North Las Vegas Airport around lunchtime Sunday killed all four passengers on both aircraft, aviation officials said. Authorities are investigating the collision, but early information indicated that one of the planes collided with the other while preparing to land.

In a post on Twitter, the North Las Vegas Fire Department confirmed that four people were killed due to a “mid air collision” at the North Las Vegas airport at approximately 12:00 p.m. Sunday. Photos from the scene posted by Kelly Curran of News3 showed the massive damage suffered by the aircraft involved in the collision.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said a Piper PA-46 was preparing to make a landing when it collided with a Cessna 172, leading the Piper to crash “into a field east of Runway 30-Right,” CBS reported. The Cessna, on the other hand, “fell into a water retention pond,” the FAA said. Each of the planes carried two people.

In a video reposted by 8 News Sunday afternoon, flames could be seen engulfing a plane on the tarmac of the North Las Vegas Airport. Thick, black smoke could be seen rising from the blazing aircraft.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is working with the FAA to determine the cause of the crash. The airport is still open for air traffic.

News of the Sunday collision came one day after a single-engine Piper PA-12 crashed in the morning Saturday near Paramount Air Airport in New Jersey. According to the Associated Press, the FAA said the pilot was the only person on board the plane at the time of the crash.

Middle Township police told the Associated Press at that time that pilot Thomas Gibson, 22, was pronounced dead at the scene. The FAA and NTSB have launched an investigation into the incident.

On Friday evening, authorities confirmed the deaths of two people on board a small plane that crashed at a private property near the Oceana County Airport in Michigan. The deceased were identified by authorities Saturday as Raymond Gundy, the pilot, and Troy Caris, the sole passenger of the aircraft, Wood TV8 reported. The FAA is also investigating the said incident.

So far, there have been at least six aircraft incidents this month in the United States.

small plane Cessna 182
A Cessna 182 plane | representational image. Manfred Schmid/Getty Images
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