Phoenix, AZTwo small planes collided mid-air yesterday about 40 miles south of Phoenix, in an eerie reminder of the recent mid-air collision between a helicopter and a small plane in New York. Yesterday's plane crash has left the occupant of a Cessna 150 dead and a second occupant of that plane injured: he was airlifted to hospital. The incident occurred around 9:45 Wednesday morning.
According to CBS News reports, the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has said that the pilot of the second plane involved, a single-engine Piper Cherokee, managed to land his plane safely in a field just 2 miles from where the Cessna crashed. Everyone on board the Piper was safe and unharmed.
An eye witness near the scene of the plane crash told Associated Press that he saw a man jump out of the Cessna when it was about 75 feet from the ground; that man died after the jump. The eye-witness also reported that the second man was apparently stuck in the wreckage.
Ian Gregor, the spokesman for the FAA, told the press that there was no instructor on board the Cessna but that is not unusual, because experienced flight students frequently fly solo.
The names of the people involved have not been released.