Adam Penner, president of Harv’s Air Pilot training school in Steinbach, in the Canadian state of Manitoba, told the CBC that the two student pilots were practicing takeoffs and landings in tiny Cessna planes when the crash happened at approximately 8.45 a.m.
He explained that it appeared that both pilots were trying to land at the same time and collided a few hundred yards from the small runway.
Although the Cessnas have radios, Penner said it seems the two pilots were unaware of each other’s approach.
“We don’t understand how they could get so close together,” Penner said. “We’ll have to wait for the investigation.”
He pointed out that one of the pilots had only been in training for a few months, and the other was almost licensed for commercial use. At the scene, both were declared dead.
Savanna May Royes, 20, was one of the pilots, according to family relatives, who described him as the “essence of pure joy.” Authorities have not officially identified the fatalities.
“Savanna’s faith and laughter will forever touch everyone who was lucky enough to have known her during her short life,” the family said in a statement.
Nathaniel Plett and Lucille Plett, who reside close to the aviation school, told of the terrifying noise they heard early on Tuesday.
“We heard some kind of crackling, banging sound and then the engine turned off – I recognised that because sometimes they do stunts around here and they turn the engine off, but they turn it back on,” Lucille told Global News.
“Next ting we heard is a big crash and a big bang… and we knew this isn’t a stunt, this is something serious.”
“A pillar of black smoke coming up and a little bit later [we] heard another bang and there was an even bigger pop of black smoke,” Nathaniel added, after realising there had been a plane crash.
For Penner’s parents founded the flight school in the 1970s, which prepares students from all over the world for both professional and recreational flying, this was an uncommon event.
“For more than 51 years, we have been offering the very best flight training the safest, most enjoyable way possible,” Harv’s Air Pilot training school boasts online.
The crash, which occurred around 42 miles south of Winnipeg, has been reported to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, which has dispatched investigators to the area.
