2 student pilots dead after planes collide near Steinbach in southern Manitoba

Manitoba·UpdatedTwo pilots are dead after their small planes collided mid-air Tuesday morning in southern Manitoba.Transportation Safety Board investigating mid-air crash that involved students from Harv’s Air flying schoolCBC News · Posted: Jul 08, 2025 12:43 PM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes agoLucille Plett, who lives near the area where two small planes crashed south of Steinbach, Man., took this photo on Tuesday morning. (Submitted by Lucille Plett)Two pilots are dead after their small planes collided mid-air Tuesday morning in southern Manitoba.The crash happened around 8:45 a.m. in the rural municipality of Hanover, south of Steinbach and west of Highway 12, RCMP media relations spokesperson Cpl. Melanie Roussel said during a news conference on Tuesday.”This is still evolving. Members are still on scene,” she said. “It’s a two-vehicle plane collision, which is not something that happens every day.”RCMP say the bodies of the pilots were found in the wreckage of the single-engine planes.WATCH | RCMP speak about fatal plane crash:Manitoba RCMP provide update after planes collide, leaving 2 student pilots deadRCMP provide details about a crash that left two student pilots dead after their planes collided in the rural municipality of Hanover, south of Steinbach, Man., on Tuesday morning.There were no passengers aboard.Adam Penner, president of Harv’s Air flying school, said the crash involved students and happened during a training exercise.Adam Penner, president of Harv’s Air flying school, said the crash involved students and happened during a training exercise. (Trevor Brine/CBC)No information on the ages or the sex of the pilots has been released.Roussel could not confirm whether family of the pilots had been notified as of 1:30 p.m., during the RCMP news conference.The Transportation Safety Board said it has deployed a team of investigators to the crash scene.RCMP will continue to be involved in investigating the fatalities, said Roussel, though the TSB will take over the investigation into the cause of the crash.CorrectionsWe initially reported that the crash happened at 4:45 p.m. In fact, it happened at 8:45 a.m.Jul 08, 2025 12:55 PM EDTWith files from Rosanna Hempel