Planes collide mid-air in Colorado almost ripping one in half

‘Every one of these pilots needs to go buy a lottery ticket right now,’ says deputy

Two small aircraft collided in mid-flight near Denver, Colorado in the US.

One of the planes was almost ripped in half, while the other was forced to use a parachute in order to land.

In an outcome deemed “amazing” by officials, no one was injured in the 12 May incident, reports The Denver Channel.

The crash occurred when both aircraft were preparing to land at Centennial airport, a small regional airport outside of Denver.

It involved a twin-engine Swearingen SA226-TC Metro III metroliner with just the pilot onboard, and a Cirrus SR22 single-engine plane with the pilot and one passenger onboard.

The latter can be seen releasing a red and white parachute and floating to the ground in Cherry Creek State Park following the collision, in a video shared on social media.

The other plane managed to land at the airport, despite pictures showing nearly the entire midsection broken off by the force of the crash.

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

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

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it is investigating the incident. It is unclear which plane caused the crash.

“No injuries reported in connection with the collision,” tweeted the NTSB. “Initial report indicates collision happened as airplanes were landing.”

The metroliner plane was operated by Key Lime Air, which said in a statement: “We are participating in an active investigation of the incident with the FAA and NTSB. As information comes to light, if authorities deem it appropriate to share with the public, we will do so.

“We cannot express the gratitude we have, company-wide that no one was injured. We thank all those who have reached out with concern for our company and its people.”