2 killed after helicopter and plane collide in mid-air over Arizona airport, airplane passengers walk away unhurt

Both occupants of a helicopter were killed when they collided in mid-air with a small plane near Chandler Municipal Airport in Arizona. The airplane managed to land safely, but the chopper was sent to the ground in flames.

The mid-air collision took place on Friday morning near the airport, which is situated in a suburb of the state capital of Phoenix. Chandler Fire Battalion Chief Keith Welch confirmed that two people aboard the helicopter were killed, while the passengers of the plane, a light propeller-driven aircraft, did not require medical attention. Nobody on the ground was hurt.

The circumstances of the crash are unclear, and Chandler police have put out a call for witnesses and video footage of the incident.

Images shared by local reporters in the immediate aftermath show the plane at a standstill just off a runway, apparently fully intact.

Separate footage shows the remains of the helicopter on what appears to be a patch of waste ground, partially covered with a tarpaulin by emergency workers.

The tragic crash came three months after a smaller plane accident at Chandler Municipal Airport. Back in July, a single-engined Beechcraft Bonanza B36 with four people on board crashed and caught fire shortly after takeoff, sending one occupant to the hospital and injuring the three others.

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