Colorado plane crash: Three killed after mid-air collision

Two planes crashed in mid-air in Colorado on Saturday, killing three people, authorities said.

Boulder County Sheriff’s Deputy Joshua Bonafede said the two planes collided Saturday morning. An aircraft was spotted about 30 miles northwest of downtown Denver. Another plane was spotted a few blocks away, NBC affiliate 9 News reported.

A single-engine Cessna 172 and a second plane were at Vance Brand Airport in Longmont at about 8:50 a.m. local time, an FAA spokesman told The Washington Post in an email. Crash nearby.

An FAA spokesman said there were two people aboard the Cessna 172.The National Transportation Safety Board says on twitter It is investigating the collision of a Cessna 172 with an aircraft identified as a Sonex Xenos in Longmont, Colorado.

“The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate,” an FAA spokesman said. “The NTSB will be investigating and will provide further updates.”

The Cessna 172, also known as the Skyhawk, is one of the most popular aircraft in the world. It can accommodate four people and is often used for flight guidance.

Mid-air collisions are rare, with fewer than 30 collisions occurring in the United States in a year. They almost always involve small private or military aircraft, not commercial aircraft, and are usually the result of human error, such as miscommunication or navigation problems.

Under federal aviation regulations, private pilots must “see and avoid” other aircraft flying in their immediate vicinity and must strictly follow takeoff and landing procedures. Collision is more likely in densely populated, high-traffic areas.

Mountain View Fire and Rescue, which serves the area, Three confirmed dead And asked people to avoid the Niwater area northeast of Boulder.

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Police have closed some roads in the area, Bonafede told The Washington Post.

“It’s early days for the investigation,” Bonafide said, adding that federal investigators “are on their way.”

Praveena Somasundaram contributed to this report.



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