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Deputy Mesa Fire Chief Forrest Smith talks about the fatal plane crash in northeast Mesa on July 17, 2017. Two people were killed.

Two people were confirmed dead in a fiery airplane crash at a northeast Mesa golf course late Monday afternoon, with one official describing the scene as “a ball of fire.”

Mesa fire officials were notified of the aircraft down at Longbow Golf Club by the nearby Falcon Field Airport tower about 5 p.m., said Mesa Deputy Fire Chief Forrest Smith.

The golf course is at the northeast corner of Higley and McDowell roads in Mesa. The airport is southwest of the intersection.

Smith said crews arrived to find the aircraft had crashed and burned on a fairway at he course.

“It was a pretty horrific scene,” Smith said.

“When crews first arrived they were met with a ball of fire on the course itself.”

Smith said officials confirmed two people aboard the aircraft were killed. 

Nobody else was injured in the crash.

Helicopter pictures shown by local television stations showed burned remnants of the aircraft on the course.

Smith said it took firefighters 20 minutes to extinguish the fire, noting firefighters worked to preserve as much of the scene as possible for investigators.

Officials at Longbow Golf Club declined comment.

Check back with azcentral.com for updates.

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