Four people were killed Sunday after two small planes collided in midair at an airport in Las Vegas, officials and local media reports said.

A single-engine Piper PA-46 plane was preparing to land at North Las Vegas Airport in the US state of Nevada around noon local time, when it collided with a single-engine Cessna 172, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement to AFP.

"The Piper crashed... in a field east of Runway 30-Right and the Cessna fell into a water retention pond," the agency said. "Two people were aboard each aircraft."

Four people died in the crash, local media reported, citing city officials.

An investigation is ongoing, the FAA said.