Four people are said to have died after two planes crashed in mid-air in Australia. The two occupants of both planes were confirmed dead at separate scenes in Mangalore, north of the Victoria state capital, Melbourne, the Evening Standard reports.
According to the report, Aerial images appeared to show debris from two small planes in grassy areas following the smash on Wednesday morning.
Victoria Police said it is believed the aircrafts collided in mid-air before crashing to the ground.
Officers were called to reports of a collision at about 11.25 am local time.
In a statement, the force said: “Two occupants in each aircraft have died at the scenes.
“The four persons are yet to be identified.
“The Civil Aviation Safety Authority and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau have been notified.
“Police are currently investigating and will prepare a report for the Coroner.”
Emergency services staff found wreckage from both planes in separate locations on the ground near Seymour, about 120km north of Melbourne, with the victims trapped after the twin death spirals.
Police Inspector Peter Koger said people had seen the planes fall from the sky after colliding at 4000 feet, with two killed in each plane.
“One plane almost certainly crashed immediately and the other plane crashed about two kilometres north from here and both were extensively damaged prior to colliding with the ground,” he said.
“There were some people in the paddocks at the back of this facility and there was also a helicopter in the air and we’re working with them to get witness statements.’’
Police said that neither plane had caught fire and the bodies were being recovered from the wreckage, which forced the closure for part of the day of the Hume freeway, the main Melbourne to Sydney road.
The Piper Seminole operated by Moorabbin Aviation Services and a Beech Travelair from the Peninsula Aero Club at Tyabb were both undertaking instrument flight rules (IFR) training with an instructor and student pilot on board.
The Piper had taken off from Mangalore Airport north of Melbourne as the Beech Travelair was approaching the airport for landing, when the collision happened.
Although both flights were apparently for the purpose of instrument flying, it was not immediately clear if the aircraft were being flown under IFR or visually.
One plane crashed near a woolshed and the other in bush.
“It is believed two aircraft have collided mid-air before crashing,” Victoria Police said. “Two occupants in each aircraft have died at the scenes.”
All four people were yet to be formally identified.
Airspace over Mangalore is not under the operation of air traffic control, but rather CTAF – or common traffic advisory frequency – which requires incoming and outgoing aircraft to inform each other of their movements.
Both Moorabbin Aviation Services and Peninsula Aero Club have a history of compliance and are considered reputable training schools, although the crash will open both companies to heavy scrutiny.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau deployed investigators from its Melbourne, Canberra and Brisbane offices to the scene at Mangalore.
A statement from the ATSB said the investigators were experienced in “human factors, aircraft operation and maintenance”.
Witnesses to the crash were being sought, and the ATSB appealed for anyone with dashcam footage to contact them via their website.
Australia’s last mid-air crash in December 2008 also involved two flight training school aircraft over southwest Sydney.
Two women in one plane were killed in the collision but two men in the other aircraft escaped with minor injuries.