LONGMONT, Colo. — Two small airplanes collided in midair in Colorado on Friday, leaving two people dead and another injured as she was dragged clear of her mangled plane.
The two aircraft — a Cessna 172 and a Cessna 180 — went down within minutes of each other in Longmont, around 40 miles north of Denver.
The two people killed, both male, were a flight instructor and a student having a flying lesson, The Denver Post reported.
Locals told KDVR that they heard revving and saw the pilots make last-ditch attempts to steer away from danger before the 11:45 a.m. collision.
One witness told the Post, “Oh my God. I just got chills all the way up my legs.”
One plane lost a wing and spiraled to the ground, a witness said. The other, containing female pilot Bev Cameron, attempted to make it to a nearby airport before crashing to the ground.
Longmont police commander Tim Lewis told KDVR, “It lost control and struck some power lines … and crashed into our public works facility.”
Workers pulled Cameron from the wreckage as fuel gushed out. She was taken to Longmont United Hospital with unspecified injuries.
The two crash sites were about five miles (eight kilometers) apart, according to Mountain View Fire Protection District spokesman Steve Pischke.
An investigation was launched at the scene by the National Transportation Safety Board.