GILA BEND, Ariz. (AP) — Authorities say one person is dead and another seriously injured after a small plane crashed and caught fire after taking off from Gila Bend Municipal Airport.
A spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration says the plane went down about 8:20 a.m. Tuesday near the airport’s runway. Authorities say one person aboard the plane was ejected upon impact and pronounced dead at the scene while the other person was airlifted to a hospital with life-threatening injuries. The names of the two people weren’t immediately released.
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will be investigating the cause of the crash. Gila Bend is located about 50 miles (81 kilometers) southwest of Phoenix.
