At least two dead after two planes crash in midair while trying to land

Two planes collided in Northern California while trying to land at a local airport Thursday and at least two of the three occupants were killed, officials said.

The collision occurred at Watsonville Municipal Airport shortly before 3 p.m., according to a tweet from the city of Watsonville. The city-owned airport does not have a control tower to direct aircraft landing and taking off.

A single-engine Cessna 152 and a twin-engine Cessna 340 collided during their final descent into the airport, according to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration. One person was on board the Cessna 152 and two people were on board the Cessna 340, the FAA statement said.

No one was injured on the ground, the FAA added.

The report came in just before 3 p.m., according to a Twitter post from the city, which added that "multiple agencies" were reporting the incident. The city of Watsonville is about an hour south of San Jose.

In a later statement, city officials said they were "absolutely saddened to hear about the tragic incident that took the lives of several people."

"The City of Watsonville sends its deepest condolences to the friends and family of those who passed," the statement said.

Both the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating, the FAA statement said. In a post on Twitter, the NTSB confirmed it was investigating the mid-air collision.

It is not clear what caused the two planes to collide.