Multiple People Dead After 2 Planes Collide at Airport in California: Reports

Multiple People Dead After 2 Planes Collide at Airport in California: Reports
Multiple agencies respond to Watsonville Municipal Airport, northwest of Watsonville, in Santa Cruz County, Calif., on Aug. 18, 2022, after two planes attempting to land collided. (KION-TV via AP)
Mimi Nguyen Ly
8/18/2022
Updated:
8/19/2022
0:00

Multiple people have been reported dead on Aug. 18 after two planes collided at an airport in California while trying to land there, according to reports.

The crash took place above Watsonville Municipal Airport, located in Santa Cruz County, on California’s central coast.

In a statement, the City of Watsonville announced that the crash occurred shortly before 3 p.m. local time.

“Multiple agencies responded to Watsonville Municipal Airport after two planes attempting to land collided,” the statement also reads. “We have reports of multiple fatalities.”

An image shared by the city showed firefighters on the scene of what looks like the wreckage of one small plane that hit a small hangar at the airport. Other photos and videos showed another plane having fallen in a grassy field near the airport.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in an emailed statement that the crash involved a single-engine Cessna 152 and a twin-engine Cessna 340, with one person on board the Cessna 152, and two on board the Cessna 340. The FAA noted that no injuries were reported to anyone who was on the ground at the time of the crash.

The FAA said it will be investigating the crash with the National Transportation Safety Board, which will be in charge of the investigation.

It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the crash.