A Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and a Bell P-63 Kingcobra were participating in the Air Force Wings Over Dallas air show when they collided mid-air near Dallas Executive Airport shortly before 1:30 p.m. local time, the FAA said. 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 in Dallas on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022. Nathaniel Ross Photography via AP According to the event’s website, several planes were scheduled to perform a flight demonstration Saturday afternoon. Posts on social media showed hundreds of people gathered to watch the flyover. The 3-day event is in honor of Veterans Day, which was on Friday. 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.” Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson called it a “terrible tragedy.” “The videos are heartbreaking,” he tweeted. “Please say a prayer for the souls who ascended to heaven to entertain and educate our families today.” Officials did not say how many people were on the planes, but Hank Coates, president of the air show company, said a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber typically has a crew of four to five, while a P-63 Kingcobra fighter plane it has only one pilot.
The B-17, a massive four-engine bomber, was the cornerstone of US air power during World War II. The Kingcobra, an American fighter plane, was used primarily by Soviet forces during the war. Most B-17s were scrapped at the end of World War II, and only a few remain today, largely on display in museums and air shows, according to Boeing. Two planes collided and crashed during the Air Force Wings Over Dallas event Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022. Agnes Calka There were no paying customers on board, said Coates of the Commemorative Air Force, which also owns the planes. Their aircraft are flown by highly trained volunteers, often retired pilots, he said.
Multiple videos posted on Twitter showed the fighter jet flying into the bomber, causing it to quickly fall to the ground and set off a large ball of fire and smoke. 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,” Aubrey Anne Young, 37, of Leander. Texas, which 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. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation. Air show safety—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. In 2019, a bomber 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.