3 killed when two small planes collide midair in Texas, FAA says

McKINNEY, Texas -- Three people have been killed after two small planes collided in midair near McKinney, Texas.

The Federal Aviation Administration says the collision occurred shortly after 5:30 p.m. Saturday near Aero Country Airport. The private airport is about 35 miles north of downtown Dallas.

The FAA says it was told by local fire department officials that three people died in the crash. 

FAA spokesman Lynn Lunsford said “both aircraft were flying under Visual Flight Rules and were not in contact with air traffic control at the time of the collision.”  

“I couldn’t even speak. I couldn’t even believe it,” said witness Rodney Livermore to CBS Dallas-Fort Worth. “We see the planes flying here all the time and you don’t expect to see them falling out of the sky.”  

Additional details were not immediately available about those killed in the collision.