On Tuesday morning, a tragic accident occurred when two student pilots lost their lives as their single-engine aircraft collided midair near Steinbach in Manitoba, Canada.
Adam Penner, president of Harv’s Air pilot training school, said the two were practicing takeoffs and landings in small Cessna planes.
He said they appeared to have tried to land at the same time and collided a few hundred yards away from the small runway.
He said the planes are equipped with radios, but it appears the two pilots didn’t see each other.
Police are releasing few details but said the pilots were pronounced dead at the scene and that there were no passengers.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police could not confirm the identities of the victims during an afternoon news conference.
“I don’t have that information,” said Manitoba RCMP Cpl. Melanie Roussel. “There’s really limited information right now.”
Penner mentioned that the flight school, founded by his parents in the early 1970s, hosts students from both Canada and across the globe who are training for professional and recreational flying.
The school trains about 400 student pilots a year.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has been notified.
Steinbach is about 42 miles south of Winnipeg, the provincial capital.
