Small Plane With French Tourists Crashes In Arizona, One Dead

[May 12, 2014]  (Reuters) - One person was killed and another seriously injured when a small plane carrying a group of French tourists crashed while attempting to land at an Arizona airport, authorities said on Sunday.

The plane was carrying a pilot and six passengers when it toppled over while landing in windy conditions on Saturday in Page, near the Arizona border with Utah, about 100 miles northeast of the Grand Canyon, a police department official said.

One person died after being transported to a local hospital, and another was airlifted from the scene and was in stable condition on Sunday, the official said. Four others were treated for minor injuries.

The single-engine Cessna 207, owned by Salt Lake City-based American Aviation Inc, crashed a few hundred feet short of the runway at Page Municipal Airport, according to Ian Gregor, a spokesman with the Federal Aviation Administration.

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the accident, he said. Officials did not provide the identities or hometowns of the passengers and pilot.

On its website, American Aviation says it provides scenic air tours of the region and has flown over 100,000 customers. No company spokesperson was immediately available for comment, according to a person who answered the phone at its Arizona office.

(Reporting by Chris Michaud and Victoria Cavaliere; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)

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