Two historic military jets collided and crashed to the ground in a ball of flames during an air show in Dallas, killing six, officials said. National transportation officials were investigating the cause of Saturday’s crash, which came three years after a World War II-era bomber crashed in Connecticut that killed seven, and amid continued concern over the safety of air shows featuring vintage warplanes . Emergency crews rushed to the crash site at Dallas Executive Airport, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from downtown. News footage from the scene showed crumpled wreckage of the planes in a grassy area within the airport perimeter. The mid-air crash during the Wings over Dallas air show claimed six lives, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins tweeted Sunday, citing the county medical examiner. Authorities are still working to identify the victims, he said. It was unclear if there were any injuries or deaths on the ground. Dallas Fire-Rescue told the Dallas Morning News there were no reports of injuries there. Anthony Montoya saw the two planes collide. “I just stood there. I was in complete shock and disbelief,” said Montoya, 27, who watched the air show with a friend. “Everyone around was gasping. Everyone burst into tears. Everyone was shocked.” Officials did not say how many people were inside each plane, but Hank Coates, president of the company that put on the air show, said one of the planes, a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber, typically has a crew of four to five. . The other, a P-63 Kingcobra fighter, has a single pilot. There were no paying customers on board, said Coates of the Commemorative Air Force, which also owns the planes. The planes are flown by highly trained volunteers, often retired pilots, he said. The National Transportation Safety Board took control of the crash scene, with local police and fire departments providing support, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said. The Federal Aviation Administration was also to investigate, officials said. “The videos are heartbreaking,” Johnson tweeted. The planes collided and crashed at about 1:20 p.m., the FAA said in a statement. 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. A cornerstone of US air power during World War II, the B-17 is a massive four-engine bomber used in daylight raids against Germany. The Kingcobra, an American fighter plane, was used primarily by Soviet forces during the war. Most B-17s were destroyed at the end of World War II, and only a few remain today, largely on display in museums and air shows, according to Boeing. Multiple videos posted on social media showed the fighter jet flying into the bomber, causing it to quickly fall to the ground and spark a large ball of fire and smoke. “It was really horrible to see,” said onlooker Aubrey Anne Young, 37, of Leander, Texas. 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 in a video Young posted to her Facebook page. Air show safety — particularly 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. In 2019, a bomber crashed in Hartford, Connecticut, killing seven people. The NTSB said at the time that it had investigated 21 crashes since 1982 involving World War II-era bombers, resulting in 23 deaths. Wings Over Dallas bills itself as “America’s Premier World War II Airshow,” according to a website advertising the event. The show was scheduled for Nov. 11-13, Veterans Day weekend, and visitors were to see more than 40 World War II-era aircraft. The Saturday afternoon flight schedule included a “bomber parade” and “fighter escort” featuring B-17s and P-63s. 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 pilot of the P-63 violated a basic rule of flight. “He got the belly on the leader,” Wolk said. “This prevents him from measuring distance and position. The risk of collision is very high when you can’t see who you’re supposed to be in formation with, and that kind of association is not allowed.” He added, “I am not blaming anyone and to the greatest extent possible, the air shows, the pilots and the aircraft that fly them are safe. Air shows are one of the largest spectator events in America and a tragedy like this is rare.” . Wolk said it takes extensive training and discipline to fly in an air show environment. The air broadcast qualifications of the P-63 pilot are not known.
According to the Dallas County Coroner, there are a total of 6 deaths from yesterday’s Wings over Dallas air show incident. The authorities will continue today with the investigation and identification of the deceased. Please pray for their families and all involved. — Clay Jenkins (@JudgeClayJ) November 13, 2022 —— Bleed reported from Little Rock, Ark. Bobby Caina Calvan in New York, Ken Miller in Oklahoma City and Dave Kolpack in Fargo, ND contributed to this report.
