Two planes collided midair near Tucson last week, killing two and reigniting debates about air traffic control tower safety protocols. The crash occurred at Marana Regional Airport, which handles tens of thousands of flights annually without a staffed tower. Federal investigators will spend months determining the cause, but preliminary radio chatter suggests a pilot communication breakdown during a touch-and-go maneuver.
Retired Navy aviator Mike Ginter compared tower-free airports to driving:
You don’t need police directing every grocery trip—you signal, check mirrors, and go. Pilots train for this ‘see and avoid’ system daily.Over 90% of U.S. public airports lack control towers, relying instead on radio coordination and visual awareness.
The FAA’s tower funding program aims to modernize aging infrastructure, with airports in Oregon, Nevada, and Minnesota recently approved for new constructions. Marana’s 2019 application stalled during COVID-19 but resumes with a 2029 completion target. Critics argue staffing shortages and delayed projects heighten risks, though accident rates remain low given 26 million annual general aviation flight hours.
This tragedy echoes the 1956 Grand Canyon collision that killed 128 and spurred FAA creation. Today’s challenges include balancing modernization costs with evolving traffic volumes. President Trump’s 2020 memo demanding aviation safety reviews cited staffing concerns, though FAA data shows under 1% of cuts affected non-critical roles.
- Bend, OR: $2.1M for tower site studies
- Boulder City, NV: $3.4M for environmental reviews
- Mankato, MN: $4.8M for construction
As investigators piece together the Arizona crash, one question lingers: Can decades-old ‘see and avoid’ principles withstand today’s crowded skies?