3 people killed when 2 planes collide in midair over California airport
Three people were killed when two planes collided over a California airport, authorities said Friday.
At around 3 p.m. local time Thursday, a single-engine Cessna 152 with one person on board and a twin-engine Cessna 340 with two people on board collided as one of the planes was attempting to land at Watsonville Municipal Airport, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
The other plane appeared to be in a traffic pattern, Fabian Salazar, an air safety investigator with the agency, told reporters Friday.
Both pilots and the passenger in the Cessna 340 were killed. Their identities were not immediately released.
A dog that was in the Cessna 340 also died, Salazar said.
There were no injuries reported to anyone on the ground, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
However, the Cessna 340 crashed into a hangar, damaging a plane inside the building and sparking a post-crash fire, the FAA said.
According to authorities, there was no air traffic control tower in the area.
The FAA and the NTSB will investigate the crash.
Watsonville Municipal Airport is located about 45 miles south of San Jose.