Six people were killed when two World War II-era planes collided mid-air Saturday afternoon in a fatal crash at the Wings Over Dallas Airshow at Dallas Executive Airport.
Dallas County Coroner Clay Jenkins confirmed the deaths in a tweet Sunday morning.
“According to the Dallas County Coroner, there are a total of 6 deaths from yesterday’s Wings Air Show incident in Dallas,” Jenkins tweeted. “The authorities will continue to work today to investigate and identify the deceased. Please pray for their families and all involved.”
The planes involved were a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and a Bell P-63 Kingcobra, according to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA said the two aircraft collided and crashed into the ground around 1:20 p.m.
Officials said the B-17 had a crew of five, while the Kingcobra was flown by a single pilot. There were no paying customers on board.
The Allied Pilots Association tweeted Saturday night that two of its former members were killed in the B-17. The American Airlines Pilots Association, which is the union representing American Airlines pilots, identified the crew members as Terry Barker and Len Root, who are retiring in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
“Our hearts go out to their families, friends and colleagues past and present,” the tweet read.
According to a LinkedIn profile, Root lived in the Keller area and was a pilot and manager for the Gulf Coast Wing of the Commemorative Air Force. He previously worked for American Airlines for 35 years as a flight manager and flight management system program controller.
Barker also lived in Keller, according to property records.
The president of the Dallas-based Commemorative Air Force, which hosted the show and owned and operated the planes involved in the crash, said at a press conference shortly before 5 p.m. Saturday that he could not release the number or names of the people on the planes or their condition until all next of kin have been notified and the NTSB approves the release of the information.
The National Transportation Safety Board is in charge of the investigation.
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said there were no reports of injuries to spectators or other people on the ground. The debris field from the crash extended from the airport site to Highway 67 and a nearby shopping center, Johnson wrote in a tweet.
️ GRAPHIC VIDEO: A mid-air collision involving two planes near Dallas Executive Airport today. The crash occurred during the Wings Over Dallas World War II Airshow at 1:25 p.m., according to Dallas Fire-Rescue. A @FOX4 viewer took this video. @FOX4 is working on more details. pic.twitter.com/jdA6Cpb9Ot
— David Sentendrey (@DavidSFOX4) November 12, 2022
Videos taken by witnesses and posted on social media appear to show the smaller plane hitting the back of the B-17 as the P-63 made a turn. The planes disintegrated as they fell to the ground, followed by a fiery explosion and clouds of black smoke rising into the sky.
Leah Block, a spokeswoman for the Commemorative Air Force, which is dedicated to preserving World War II aircraft and hosts the air show, said they are not sure why the crash happened. NTSB officials planned to arrive at the airport Saturday night, and Block said they would likely begin the investigation Sunday.
Dallas Executive Airport is located in the 5300 block of Challenger Drive near US Highway 67 in Redbird, about 10 miles southwest of downtown Dallas. According to Star-Telegram media partner WFAA-TV, sources reported seeing debris falling on Highway 67. A portion of the highway was closed for several hours.
Live television news footage from the scene showed people setting up orange cones around the crumpled plane wreckage, which was in a grassy area.
According to Block, both vintage military planes came from Houston. A Facebook page about the plane identified the B-17 as the so-called Texas Raiders, which the Commemorative Air Force website calls “one of the most recognized and popular warbirds.” Of the 12,731 B-17s built by the US, it was one of only five still flying.
At the press conference, Air Force President and CEO Hank Coates said the agency has more than 180 aircraft around the world on display.
“The maneuvers they did were not dynamic at all,” Coates said. “They were what we call parade bombers.”
The crew are volunteers who are carefully vetted and thoroughly trained, he said, and many of them are retired military or airline pilots with decades of experience. He said the aircraft are “very well maintained”.
Coates said counseling is being provided for the families of the crew members as well as witnesses and first responders.
“It’s hard for me to talk about it because I know all these people,” he said. “These are family and good friends.”
In this photo provided by Nathaniel Ross Photography, a historic military plane crashes after colliding with another plane during an air show at Dallas Executive Airport on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022. (Nathaniel Ross Photography via AP) Nathaniel Ross AP
Block told reporters that there were about 4,000 spectators at the event and the collision occurred further down the flight line, so it was not directly in front of the crowd.
In a tweet, Johnson, the mayor of Dallas, called the crash a “terrible tragedy in our city.”
“The videos are heartbreaking,” Johnson tweeted. “Please say a prayer for the souls who ascended to heaven to entertain and educate our families today.”
The videos are heartbreaking. Say a prayer for the souls who ascended to heaven to entertain and educate our families today.
— Mayor Eric Johnson (@Johnson4Dallas) November 12, 2022
Anthony Montoya told The Associated Press he saw the two planes collide.
“I just stood there. I was in complete shock and disbelief,” said Montoya, 27, who attended the air show with a friend. “Everyone around had gasped. Everyone burst into tears. Everyone was shocked.”
Victoria Yeager, the widow of famed Air Force pilot Chuck Yeager and a pilot herself, was also at the show. He didn’t see the crash, but he did see the burning wreckage.
“It was pulverized,” said Yeager, 64, who lives in Fort Worth.
“We were hoping they had all gotten out, but we knew they hadn’t,” he said of the occupants.
“It was really horrible to see,” said Aubrey Anne Young, 37, of Leander, who also saw the crash. Her children were inside the shed with their father when it happened. “I’m still trying to make sense of it.”
A woman next to Young can be heard crying and screaming hysterically in a video Young posted to her Facebook page.
FILE – The historic B-17 military aircraft named ‘Texas Raiders’ flies over Barksdale AFB, La., May 8, 2021. On Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022, the plane collided with another during the memorial wings of the Air Force over the Dallas Air Show. Scott M. Lieberman AP
Dallas Fire Rescue spokesman Jason Evans told the Dallas Morning News that firefighters were already at the air show in case of an emergency and were able to quickly get to the crash site.
Saturday was supposed to be the second day of a three-day air show for Veterans Day weekend, but Friday’s events were canceled due to rain. Wings Over Dallas bills itself as “America’s Premier World War II Airshow,” according to a website promoting the event. Visitors were to see more than 40 World War II-era aircraft.
The show’s Saturday afternoon schedule featured flying displays, including a “bomber parade” and “fighter escort” with B-17s and P-63s.
Safety at air shows and competitions—especially with older military aircraft—has been a concern for years. In 2011, 11 people were killed in Reno, Nevada, when a P-51 Mustang crashed into spectators at the Reno Air Races. In 2019, a B-17 crashed in Hartford, Connecticut, killing seven people. The NTSB said at the time that it had investigated 21 accidents since 1982 involving World War II-era bombers, resulting in 23 deaths.
Block told reporters that nothing like this has happened during her 14 years with the Commemorative Air Force. This was the seventh year the show has been held in Dallas.
Videos of past Wings Over Dallas events depict vintage warplanes flying low, sometimes in close formation, on simulated bombing or strafing flights. The videos also show the planes performing aerobatics.
Damage from a mid-air collision between two planes lies inside the fence line of Dallas Executive Airport on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022. Liesbeth Powers Dallas Morning News
Arthur Alan Wolk is a Philadelphia aviation attorney who has been flying at air shows for 12 years. After watching video of the air show and hearing the maneuvers described as “bombers on parade,” Wolk told The Associated Press on Sunday that the P-63 pilot violated the basic rule of formation flight.
“He got the belly on the leader,” Wolk said. “This prevents him from measuring…
