It marks the second fatal incident at an Arizona airport in the past 10 days. On Feb. 10, the pilot of a private jet owned by Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil was killed after a runway collision between two aircraft at Scottsdale Airport.

Chatter over the airwaves has provided some clues about what happened in Arizona. A chief flight instructor who was in the air with a student that day heard the commotion over the radio: One plane was attempting a touch-and-go when another clipped its propeller while attempting to land.

Tens of thousands of planes take off, land and perform touch-and-goes at the Marana Regional Airport in southern Arizona every year. Without an air traffic control tower, it's a calculated dance that requires communication by pilots.