GRANT COUNTY, Ind. — Two firefighters from Madison County were killed after two small planes crashed at an airport in Grant County Monday evening.
Two aircraft, a Cessna 150 and a Cessna 525 CitationJet, collided with two confirmed fatalities at Marion Municipal Airport (KMZZ), Marion, Indiana. The Cessna 150 (N5614E) was partially consumed by the post-impact fire and the two occupants were fatally injured. The Cessna CitationJet’s tail was severed and the five occupants onboard were apparently not injured.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the Cessna 150 was attempting to take off when it struck the tail of the CitationJet, which had just landed on runway 04.
Marion Municipal Airport is an uncontrolled airport.
The crash happened just after 5 p.m. at the Marion Municipal Airport off State Road 9 in Marion.
Grant County Coroner Chris Butche says a smaller plane clipped a larger plane that was landing. The smaller plane then crashed and caught fire, killing the pilot and a passenger.
Butche identified the victims as Kyle Hibst, 31, and David Wittkamper, 31. Both men are from Elwood and were members of the Pipe Creek Township Volunteer Fire Department.
The Cessna 150 was carrying two people and the Citation had five passengers on board.