2 student pilots killed in midair collision during training in Canada

Muri Assunção, New York Daily News on Jul 9, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

Two student pilots were killed Tuesday morning after their planes collided during a training session in southern Canada, officials said.

The crash happened near Steinbach, a city in the Canadian province of Manitoba, about 45 miles north of the Minnesota border.

“The two pilots were pronounced deceased on the scene, the Manitoba Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said in a news release. “There were no passengers aboard.”

Authorities were notified of a midair collision in an area just south of Steinbach shortly before 9 a.m. RCMP, fire crews, and emergency medical services responded to the scene and located the wreckage of two small single-engine aircraft.

Adam Penner, president of Harv’s Air pilot training school, said the two students, a man and a woman, were practicing takeoffs and landings.

“(The collision) happened when they were on the approach to land. We don’t know exactly how they hit each other yet,” Penner told the Winnipeg Free Press.

The identities of the victims have not been officially released.

“I don’t have that information,” RCMP Cpl. Melanie Roussel said at a news conference in Winnipeg Tuesday afternoon. “There’s really limited information right now.”

However, the family of one victim, Savanna May Royes, identified her in a statement to CBC News, describing the 20-year-old as “the essence of pure joy.”

“Savanna’s faith and laughter will forever touch everyone who was lucky enough to have known her, during her short life,” the statement said.

_____