Tragedy as student pilot dies after horror mid-air collision during training flight

A young female trainee pilot tragically lost her life when two training planes collided mid-air in a horrifying crash.

Savanna May Royes, 20, was killed following the chilling incident, which occurred just after 8.45am local time on Tuesday (2.45pm UK). The pair of small Cessna aircraft were practicing take-offs and landings near a rural runway in Steinbach, Manitoba, Canada.

Both planes, belonging to Harv's Air Pilot Training School, crashed mere hundreds of yards from the airstrip in what officials are labelling a rare and tragic event. Both pilots – one a novice and the other nearing qualification for a commercial licence – were declared dead at the scene.

Adam Penner, the flight school's president, confirmed to CBC that the aircraft were equipped with radios He stated: "It appears both pilots were trying to land at the same time and collided. We don't understand how they could get so close together. We'll have to wait for the investigation."

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Savanna May Royes will be remembered as "the essence of pure joy", her family said. They added: "Savanna's faith and laughter will forever touch everyone who was lucky enough to have known her during her short life," her heartbroken family shared in a statement.

Local residents Lucille and Nathaniel Plett, who live near the airfield, recounted the eerie sounds of the collision.

"We heard some kind of crackling, banging sound and then the engine turned off – I recognised that because sometimes they do stunts around here and they turn the engine off, but they turn it back on," Lucille recounted to Global News.

"Next thing we heard is a big crash and a big bang... and we knew this isn't a stunt, this is something serious."

Nathaniel recalled: "We saw a pillar of black smoke coming up and a little bit later [we] heard another bang and there was an even bigger pop of black smoke."

The incident was out of the ordinary for the flight school, established by Penner's parents in the 1970s, which has been training international students for both recreational and professional aviation careers.

"For more than 51 years, we have been offering the very best flight training the safest, most enjoyable way possible," boasts the school's website.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has taken on the investigation of the crash, which occurred roughly 42 miles south of Winnipeg.

Three people died after a light aircraft crashed in the French Alps this week. It came down close to Chambéry airport, a small international airport. Footage shows the small aircraft ploughing nose down into the ground, close to a building, with dirt and debris being thrown up into the air.