According to the Federal Aviation Administration, a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and a Bell P-63 Kingcobra crashed at about 1:20 p.m. at Red Bird. The Commemorative Air Force said both aircraft were out of Houston. It was not clear how many people were on the plane. Jason Evans, a spokesman for Dallas Fire Rescue, said at about 2 p.m. that he did not know the condition of the pilots or if any injuries were reported among the people on the ground. In videos shared on social media, the B-17 was seen colliding with a smaller plane as it made a turn. The front of the B-17 broke off and the plane’s wings caught fire as it fell to the ground. One viewer said “Oh my god!” in Spanish, and a large cloud of black smoke could be seen from the stadium where dozens of people stood to watch the performance from above. In another video, a child can be heard asking “Did this have to happen?” WFAA-TV (Channel 8) reported that debris from the crash was visible on Highway 67, and TxDOT cameras showed a section of the highway in south Dallas closed to traffic. Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson called the crash a “terrible tragedy in our city” in a tweet, adding that many details about the incident are still unknown. “The videos are heartbreaking,” he wrote. “Please say a prayer for the souls who ascended to heaven to entertain and educate our families today. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said he and his wife, Heidi, were “praying for those involved.” “The images of this collision are incredibly distressing and we pray for the safety of everyone at the scene,” he tweeted.
Wings Over Dallas is an air show hosted by the Commemorative Air Force, an organization dedicated to preserving World War II aircraft based at Red Bird Airport. Saturday was scheduled to be the second day of a three-day show that will take place over Veterans Day weekend. Friday’s events were canceled due to inclement weather. The organization’s website showed events were also scheduled to take place from 9am to 5pm on Sunday. The program for Saturday’s events included a parade of bomber planes, including the B-17, followed by a fighter escort, including the P-63. CAF was founded as a non-profit group in 1961 and the weekend show was part of CAF’s Air Power History Tour, billed as a national tour of World War II aircraft. The tour advertises that its shows include one or both FIFIs, a Boeing B-29 Superfortress or Diamond Lil, a B-24 Liberator, — extremely rare aircraft — among many other planes. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.