Authorities said on Sunday (Nov. 13) that six persons were killed after two World War II-era aircraft collided in midair and plummeted to the ground in Texas during a demonstration. The Federal Aviation Administration reported that a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and a smaller Bell P-63 Kingcobra were engaged in the incident at Dallas Executive Airport.
"According to our Dallas County Medical Examiner, there are a total of 6 fatalities from yesterday's Wings over Dallas air show incident," Dallas County County Judge Clay Jenkins said on Twitter. The incident, according to Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, was "a terrible tragedy," and he added that the videos of the incident "are heartbreaking."
Several social media videos depicted dramatic sights of the smaller aircraft descending toward the lower-flying B-17 and colliding with it as they both flew in loops about the airport. The planes collided, splitting into what appeared to be many massive pieces, exploding in a ball of fire and sending up a huge plume of black smoke.
The collision left debris all over the airport property, as well as on a strip mall and a nearby roadway, which was shut down for many hours as a result, according to Johnson. A few miles south of Dallas's downtown, the gathering Saturday drew an estimated 5,000 people. The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA said they would both look into the incident. Air show activities scheduled for Sunday were canceled.
The B-17 "normally has a crew of four or five," according to Hank Coates, chief executive of the Commemorative Air Force (CAF), whereas the P-63 is flown by a single pilot. He claimed that the pilots who fly the aircraft during such displays are skilled volunteers who have undergone "very thorough training" and are frequently ex-military pilots.
The collective bargaining representative for American Airlines, the Allied Pilots Association, earlier announced that two of its retired members perished in the incident. According to the Dallas Morning News, both aircraft had their bases in Houston. According to Coates, the CAF operates about 180 vintage aircraft for air exhibitions, veteran tributes, and training flights, totaling about 6,500 hours annually.
The four-engined bomber known as the B-17, which was one of the most widely produced bombers ever, was vital in helping the United States defeat Germany in the air during World War II.
Out of the 12,731 bombers that were initially produced, the B-17 involved in the crash, which had a Texas Raiders emblem on its nose, was one of only five that could still fly. Bell Aircraft created the P-63 Kingcobra during the same conflict, but the Soviet Air Force was the only one to employ it in actual combat.
