Plane erupts into huge plume of smoke after deadly two-jet crash at airport

Two planes have crashed in an Arizonan airport, leaving at least two people dead, according to authorities.

Horrific scenes unfolded with huge clouds of smoke emerging from the crash site as emergency services hurried to respond. Marana Police Department later announced that the unfortunate incident claimed at least two lives in what was described as an "aircraft collision" involving two planes mid-air..

The department said: "The Marana Police Department is currently on-scene at the Marana Regional Airport located at 11700 W. Avra Valley Rd. in reference to an aircraft collision.

"Details are limited at this time. Media staging will be in the large dirt parking lot outside of the Marana Regional Airport. FAA and NTSB will be responding."

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, a Lancair 360 MK II collided mid-air with a Cessna 172 at the Marana Regional Airport - which is located about 20 miles north of Tucson, Arizona - at around 8.25am local time Wednesday.

It is understood that there were two people aboard each plane. Police have not yet identified the people who were aboard either plane.

The FAA said that the airport is an “uncontrolled field” that does not have an air traffic control tower in use. Pilots use a Common Traffic Advisory Frequency to communicate with other planes in the vicinity of the airport.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is leading the investigation into the crash. Based on preliminary information, the "aircraft collided while upwind of runway 12," NTSB said in a statement. The Cessna "landed uneventfully" while the Lancair "impacted terrain near runway 3 and a post-impact fire ensued."

The incident adds to a recent spate of air travel accidents rocking the US. Earlier on Monday, horror struck passengers aboard a Delta Airlines flight as their aircraft overturned in Toronto, reports the Mirror.

People found themselves hanging upside-down, with fuel streaking the windows and smoke invading the cabin. Evacuation procedures were rapidly executed for all 80 individuals on board.

Of the 21 hospitalised passengers, 19 have since been released, according to Delta Airlines.

In a further tragic incident last month, 67 individuals lost their lives when American Airlines Flight 5342 collided with a military helicopter and plummeted into the Potomac River in Washington DC.

The ill-fated aircraft, which had flown in from Wichita, Kansas, was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members when it crashed into the Army chopper carrying three soldiers on Wednesday, January 29.

Ronald Reagan National Airport came to a standstill and halted all take-offs and landings following the fireball smash, believed to have happened at around 9pm local time.