Manitoba RCMP say two people have died after two small planes collided south of Steinbach on Tuesday.
The incident happened at around 8:45 a.m. in the RM of Hanover, according to officials.
RCMP say two pilots were pronounced deceased on scene. There were no passengers aboard
Adam Penner with Harv’s Air says the pilots were attempting to land the two planes at the same time and crashed near a landing strip south of Steinbach.
“There was some sort of communication issue where they weren’t seeing each other,” Penner said.
“They were on approach and they collided somewhere on the approach.”
The planes — a two-seater Cessna 152 and a four-seater Cessna 172 — are commonly used in flight schools. The student pilots were doing an exercise in which they would fly a rectangular pattern, land briefly and roll down the runway before taking off again, Penner said.
Neither Penner nor RCMP identified the students. Both said the students were the only ones onboard.
RCMP, fire department and emergency medical services attended and located the wreckage of two small, single-engine aircraft.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is investigating.
— With files from The Canadian Press
