Planes in North Las Vegas crash were approaching parallel runways, authorities say

The pilots of two planes that collided at the North Las Vegas Airport on Sunday, killing four, were both attempting to land on runways parallel to one another at the time of the tragedy, according to federal authorities.

A Cessna 172 Cessna was expected to land on a runway at the airport known as 30R, while a Piper PA46 was to land on a runway known as 30L before the aircraft collided in air at 12:04 p.m., said Peter Knudson, a National Transportation Safety Board spokesman.

“They were both on final approach to these parallel runways when the mid-air collision occurred,” Knudson said. “The Cessna, there was a post-crash fire, but not the Piper.”

The Cessna is registered to Binner Enterprises in Henderson, and the aircraft is associated with a flight instruction business at the North Las Vegas Airport known as Airwork Las Vegas. The Piper PA-46 is registered to Gold Aero Aviation, which lists a corporate address in Tampa, Florida.

“Yesterday was a very sad day for the Airwork family,” owner Matthew Binner wrote in an email. “Thank you to everyone who has reached out to us yesterday and today. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those involved in yesterday’s terrible accident. This world lost some great people &aviators.”

He added that the company was cooperating with federal investigators and awaiting a preliminary report on what may have led to the crash.

Both planes came to rest on airport property. The pilots and a passenger in each aircraft were killed. The names of the four victims were pending notification of next of kin by the coroner’s office.

Knudson said investigators with the transportation board arrived at the airport Monday.

“The investigators are going to be documenting the accident site, locking in flight tracking data, air traffic control recordings, any surveillance video and talking to any witnesses,” Knudson said, adding that an initial report on the basics of the crash was expected to be released in roughly two to three weeks.

Attempts to contact Gold Aero Aviation were not successful.

At the North Las Vegas Airport on Monday, someone had placed a single bouquet of flowers at the front door of the business Airwork Las Vegas.

Users of an online portal the Aviation Safety Network posted claims on the website Monday indicating that the Piper was flying to North Las Vegas from Coeur D’Alene, Idaho, and that the Cessna was a local flight “practicing touch and go’s.”

Posters on the site said preliminary information indicates the crash occurred when the Piper approached the wrong runway. The Aviation Safety Network cautioned that the information provided was added by users of the network and unofficial sources.

Clark County Department of Aviation spokesman Joe Rajchel said the North Las Vegas Airport was open Monday but runway 30R and a third runway, 12L, remained closed.

Jackson Wadsworth, a flight instructor working for private company at the North Las Vegas Airport, said the facility is a popular place to learn to fly for aspiring pilots. The airport, he said, has three runways with two parallel to one another.

“It is a really complicated airport in the sense that there are parallel operations,” Wadsworth said. “There are a lot more safety factors.”

He said small planes like the ones involved in Sunday’s crash are usually equipped with transponders and on-board technology available to them to help avoid other aircraft.

“It can be really challenging to see a plane flying in the air especially at lower altitudes because they blend in with the horizon,” Wadsworth said.

Even with the on-board technology, he said, pilots are responsible for being aware of other aircraft in their vicinity.

“Ultimately the pilot’s responsibility is to be looking outside the airplane at all times,” he said. “Whenever the tower gives clearance or a specific instruction to a plane, it is their responsibility to read back that instruction that tower gave to them so their is no misunderstanding.”

Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.