July 17 (UPI) -- At least three people died when two planes belonging to a Miami flight school collided in the air in Florida on Tuesday.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the 1 p.m. crash involved a Piper PA-34 and a Cessna 172 about 9 miles west of Miami Executive Airport. Markings inside one of the planes indicated it belonged to Dean International flight school.
The Cessna 172 was heading inbound to Miami Executive Airport, while the Piper PA-34 was heading outbound at the time of the crash.
Police there confirmed three people died, but said they believe there may be a fourth victim.
"Preliminary information that is coming into our homicide detectives is that the two planes were possibly training, which leads us to believe that you have a pilot and a trainer or trainer and a student, and in another plane a trainer and student," Miami-Dade Police Spokesman Alvaro Zabaleta said, according to the Miami Herald.
The FAA said both flights were under "visual flight rules," meaning no flight plans were required.
Florida Highway Patrol closed Southwest Eighth Street in both directions from Krome Avenue to the Collier County line after the crash.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it is determining the cause of the collision.
In May, two people were hospitalized after a Cessna 152 from Dean International crashed in the Everglades. In 2017, a student pilot from the flight school crashed a Cessna 152 and died while flying solo over the Everglades.
