A plane. Flying Fortress and a Bell P-63 Kingcobra Collided at the Wings Over Dallas Airshow on Saturday
A plane. Flying Fortress and a Bell P-63 Kingcobra collided and crashed at the Wings Over Dallas airshow around 1:20 p.m. on Saturday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
In a Saturday afternoon news conference, Hank Coates, president and CEO of the Commemorative Air Force, told reporters the B-17 “normally has a crew of four to five. The P 63 is a single-piloted fighter type aircraft.
“I can tell you that it was normally crewed,” Coates said. I cannot release names or number of people on the manifest until I am cleared by theNTSB.
A team is going to be dispatched by theNTSB to investigate the collision. The team, which consists of technical experts who are regularly sent to plane crash sites, is expected to arrive on Sunday, the agency said.
The FAA is currently leading the investigation, which is set to be turned over to the NTSB at approximately 9 p.m. when the NTSB team arrives at the scene, Coates said.
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There were no spectators or injuries on the ground, although the debris field includes the Dallas Executive Airport grounds and a nearby strip mall.
Mayor Johnson said in a tweet after the crash, “As many of you have now seen, we have had a terrible tragedy in our city today during an airshow. Many details remain unknown or unconfirmed at this time.”
“The videos are heartbreaking. Johnson said in a separate statement that it was time for the souls who took to the sky to be prayed for.
“This is not about the aircraft. Coates said it was just not. “I can tell you the aircraft are great aircraft, they’re safe. They’re very well-maintained. The pilots are very well-trained. I know all of these people and they are good friends so it is hard for me to talk about it.
According to Coates, the individuals flying the aircraft in CAF airshows are volunteers and have a strict process of training. Many of them are airline pilots, retired airline pilots, or retired military pilots, Coates said.
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The B-17 was part of the collection of the Commemorative Air Force, nicknamed “Texas Raiders,” and had been hangered in Conroe, Texas near Houston. Only nine of 45 complete surviving examples of the model are airworthy.
The P 63 was not very common. There are at least 14 examples of which 4 were airworthy in the U.S., including one owned by the Air Force.
Two World War II-era military planes crashed at the Dallas Executive Airport during an air show on Saturday, killing all of the people on board.
The videos show the plane appears to fly into the bomber, causing them to crash and start a large ball of fire.
I stood there. I was in shock and disbelief after attending the air show with my friend. “Everybody around was gasping. Everyone was crying. Everybody was in shock.”
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The National Transportation Safety Board took over control of the crash scene, according to Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson.
Victoria Yeager, the widow of famed Air Force test pilot Chuck Yeager and herself a pilot, was also at the show. She saw the burning wreck even though she didn’t see the collision.
The B-17, the cornerstone of U.S. air power in World War II, was used in daylight raids against Germany. The Kingcobra, a U.S. fighter plane, was used mostly by Soviet forces during the war. Most B-liners were destroyed during World War II and only a few remain today, mostly in museums and air shows.
“It was really horrific to see,” Aubrey Anne Young, 37, of Leander, Texas, who saw the crash. Her children were inside the hangar with their father when it occurred. I’m not sure how to make sense of it.
Warplanes fly low, sometimes in close formation, in Videos of previous Wings Over Dallas events. The videos show the planes performing stunts.
More than 40 fire rescue units responded to the scene after the two vintage planes – a Boeing B-17 The Flying Fortress and Bell P 63 Kingcobra were destroyed in the Wings Over Dallas airshow.
The Allied Pilots Association – the labor union representing American Airlines pilots – has identified two pilot retirees and former union members among those killed in the collision.
“Our hearts go out to their families, friends, and colleagues past and present,” the union said. APA headquarters in Fort Worth is where the professional counseling services are being offered.
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There were deaths from the Wings over Dallas air show, according to the Dallas County Medical Examiner. He said authorities are continuing to work to identify the victims.
The planes were also owned by the Commemorative Air Force, which had no paying customers on them. Their aircraft is flown by volunteers, some of whom are retired pilots.
Arthur Alan Wolk is a Philadelphia aviation attorney who flew in air shows for 12 years. After watching the air show video and hearing the maneuvers described as “bombers on parade,” Wolk told The Associated Press Sunday that the P-63 pilot violated the basic rule of formation flying.
“He went belly up to the leader,” Wolk said. That prevents him from figuring out how far off he is. The risk of collision is very high when you cannot see who you are supposed to be in formation with and that kind of join up is not permitted.”