The two planes were preparing to land at the Centennial Airport in the suburbs of Denver when they collided.
The pilot of Key Lime Air managed to land safely at the airport despite have a massive hold on the side of the aircraft.
The other pilot deployed a parachute and landed safely in a field.
One witness says “I was in the kitchen and I heard a loud firecracker bang. I ran out (on to my patio). Right when I got here I heard another bang. I saw a plane coming down.”
First responders admit they expected the worst when they were dispatched to a plane down following a mid-air collision.
Arapahoe Sheriff’s deputy John Bartmann says “you expect a lot worse. This was amazing."
Investigators from the FAA and NTSB are now working to determine what caused the collision.
The FAA released this statement on the preliminary investigation:
“A Cirrus SR-22 and a Swearingen Metroliner SA226TC collided in midair approximately four miles north of Centennial Airport in Denver, Colo., around 10:25 a.m. local time today. The pilot of the Cirrus deployed the aircraft’s parachute and landed in a nearby neighborhood. The pilot of the Swearingen landed at Centennial Airport. Two people were onboard the Cirrus and one person was onboard the Swearingen...We have no reports of people on the ground being injured. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.”