Helicopter Collides With Plane in Mid-Air Over Arizona Airport

A helicopter collided with a small airplane in mid-air over an airport in Arizona on Friday.

The Chandler Police Department first reported the incident on Twitter, notifying residents of a traffic alert near "the area of Mcqueen/Queen Creek due to a plane crash."

In a subsequent tweet, the Chandler Police Department wrote, "We are at the scene of a mid-air collision between a plane and helicopter at a Chandler Airpark. We ask anyone who possibly witnessed or caught this incident on camera to contact Chandler PD at 480-782-4130."

Chandler Police Sergeant Jason McClimans told the Associated Press that the crash occurred near the Chandler Municipal Airport.

In a statement sent to Newsweek, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said that crash occurred at around 7:42 a.m. local time and involved a "single-engine Piper PA-28 and a Robinson R22 helicopter."

According to the FAA, after the helicopter and airplane collided in mid-air, the helicopter crashed near the Chandler Municipal Airport. The single-engine airplane "landed safely on the runway with a damaged landing gear," the FAA told Newsweek.

In the statement sent to Newsweek, the FAA said that "Initial reports indicate two people were aboard each aircraft."

While speaking to reporters, McClimans said "we can confirm two fatalities in this mid-air collision. It involves the helicopter."

"The plane was able to land safely, is my understanding, at the airport, and it is currently located in the middle of the runway," McClimans said. "The airport has been closed down for takeoffs and landings."

McClimans stated that he did not have any information on what caused the mid-air collision and urged anyone with information on the incident to come forward to police.

While speaking to reporters, McClimans said that road closures due to the crash will likely last for the next four to five hours.

"The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate. The NTSB [National Transportation Safety Board] will be in charge of the investigation and will provide additional updates," the FAA said in the statement sent to Newsweek.

Newsweek was directed to McClimans remarks while speaking to reporters after reaching out to the Chandler Police Department for comment.

In July, a somewhat similar incident occurred near the Chandler Municipal Airport, when a single-engine Beechcraft B36 airplane crashed shortly after taking off. According to Fox 10 News in Phoenix, officials with the Chandler Fire Department said that the plane caught fire but they were able to extinguish it. Three of the plane's passengers sustained minor injuries, while the fourth was transported to a nearby hospital with non-life threatening injuries, Fox 10 reported.