(Updated) Two dead in mid-air collision were students at Manitoba flight school

Two student pilots died Tuesday morning after their single-engine planes collided mid-air during practice exercises, the head of a pilot training school said.

The students, who were not identified, were practising takeoffs and landings when they appear to have tried to land at the same time on the small rural runway south of Steinbach, said Adam Penner, president of Harv's Air. 

The collision left the planes wrecked in a field on private property, roughly 400 metres from the runway.

"There was some sort of communication issue where they weren't seeing each other," Penner said.

"They were on approach and they collided somewhere on the approach."

The planes — a two-seater Cessna 152 and a four-seater Cessna 172 — are commonly used in flight schools. The student pilots were doing an exercise in which they would fly a rectangular pattern, land briefly and roll down the runway before taking off again, Penner said.

Neither Penner nor RCMP identified the students. Both said the students were the only ones onboard.

"The two pilots were pronounced deceased on scene," RCMP Cpl. Melanie Roussel told reporters.

Many students at the school are from other countries and are part of a tight-knit community.

"The students and staff become family to each other," Penner said.

Mohamed Shahin, an instructor at the school, said he knew the students and the tragedy has hit hard.

"It's been a very, very heartbreaking morning and everyone is in shock," he said.

"No one has words. It's very difficult to speak."

Chrystia Freeland, the federal minister of transport, expressed condolences on social media.

"The Transportation Safety Board is investigating and I’ve appointed a minister’s observer to closely monitor their progress," Freeland posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

There have been 45 mid-air collisions in Canada reported to the safety board since 1990, a board spokesman said. Mid-air collisions of two aircraft are rare, accounting for less than one per cent of air accidents in Canadian airspace.

-- with files from Brittany Hobson in Winnipeg

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 8, 2025.