No Injuries In Planes' Collision 'Amazing': Experts Weigh In

ARAPAHOE COUNTY, CO — Two planes collided midair Wednesday over Cherry Creek State Park and the pilots and passenger walked away unscathed — leaving some first responders bewildered.

“Every one of these pilots needs to go buy a lottery ticket right now,” said John Bartmann, Arapahoe County sheriff’s deputy.

“I don’t remember anything like this — especially everybody walking away. I mean that’s the amazing part of this.”

The planes were preparing to land at Centennial Airport when they collided, authorities said.

One of the aircrafts, which is owned by the cargo transporter Key Lime Air, was nearly ripped in half. But the pilot wasn't aware of the major damage and requested an emergency landing due to engine failure, according to traffic control audio.

The other plane, a Cirrus SR 22, was carrying a pilot and passenger when it crashed in a field near East Belleview Avenue and South Peoria Street in Greenwood Village. The aircraft, which was rented from a local company, included a parachute that allowed the plane to crash safely. No explosions or fires occurred, Bartmann said.

Advanced life-saving technology — and luck — kept the pilots and passengers safe, aviation experts said.

“It’s very rare for me to be able to say ‘midair’ and ‘no fatalities’ in the same sentence,” said Joseph LoRusso, a Broomfield-based aviation attorney and commercially rated pilot.

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The damage to the Metroliner's rear fuselage was in the “perfect location,” said Anthony Brickhouse, an associate professor of aerospace and occupational safety at the Daytona Beach, Florida campus of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

“If it was the flight deck: Bad outcome. The wings: Bad outcome. The tail: Bad outcome. It happened in the perfect place for the pilot to make it down,” he said.

Frances Phillips was talking to her mother on the telephone and walking her dog in Cherry Creek State Park when she heard a big bang above her head. She looked up and saw one plane flying toward the airport and a smaller, red plane seemed to hesitate before turning toward her.

Phillips quickly hung up the phone without an explanation and ran off the path and through bushes to get out of the plane's way. At first, she wondered whether it might be a large version of the remote-controlled planes that people fly nearby. But then she realized it was too big.

She reached the plane's landing site just before police and saw two men standing in front of the plane, unharmed. The older of the two told police he was the pilot, she said.

"They're just standing there like they're at a cocktail party," Phillips said.

Phillips' friend Shelly Whitehead was getting coffee in her kitchen when she heard loud booms like firecrackers. When she ran to her back deck overlooking the park, she saw a plane falling and a parachute. She did not think anyone on board would survive.

"I was expecting an explosion but, when that didn't happen, I was hopeful," she said.

The National Transportation Safety Board has four people investigating the accident, the federal agency said in a statement.

"We are working to understand how and why these planes collided," said John Brannen, lead NTSB investigator for the accident. "It is so fortunate that no one was injured in this collision."

As of Thursday, Brannen had interviewed both pilots, and an NTSB air traffic control specialist had listened to recordings from air traffic control. They plan to interview the air traffic controllers who worked with both pilots, according to the statement.

NTSB said it will publish a preliminary report in the next two weeks. But it expects the entire investigation to take 12 to 18 months.

Authorities did not immediately identify the people who were in the planes.

"At this time, we are allowing the NTSB and FAA to conduct their investigation," said a statement issued by Derek Severns of the Cirrus Platinum Training Center, a pilot training center.

Federal Aviation Administration records show aircraft operated by Key Lime Air have been involved in three fatal crashes.

In 2016, a Key Lime Air charter plane on a nighttime flight from Panama City, Florida, to Albany, Georgia, crashed after possibly breaking up in midair as the lone pilot on board tried to navigate severe weather near Camilla, Georgia.

In 2001, a Key Lime Air flight crashed about 30 miles (48 kilometers) off the southern Colorado town of Pagosa Springs, killing two people on board.

In 2000, two pilots aboard a Key Lime Air Piper were killed after crashing near Kiowa, Colorado, southeast of Denver.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.