Dallas County officials announced that six people died after two vintage airplanes collided on Saturday afternoon at an airshow held at the Dallas Executive Airport.
The two warplanes, a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and a Bell P-63 Kingcobra, were performing at the Air Force Wings Over Dallas Air Show, and all the six people on board the planes died. Over 40 fire rescue units responded to the shocking scene of the fatal accident, which happened at around 1:30 pm local time in front of shocked spectators.
Michael Graham, a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) member, said that neither of the two planes had black boxes or flight data recorders so investigators didn’t have images or video footage from the planes.
People who were in attendance and witnessed the accident recorded videos on their phones, which showed the fighter aircraft smashing into the bomber. The video shows the planes breaking apart after the collision and plummeting to the ground before bursting into flames.
The Allied Pilots Association (APA) identified two retired pilots and former union members who perished. Terry Barker and Len Root, former association members, were together in the B-17 Flying Fortress.
The APA shared a message of condolences on Twitter to the two pilots’ family, friends, and colleagues. The association also announced they would offer free counseling services at their Fort Worth, Texas headquarters on Sunday and Monday for people who witnessed the accident and were traumatized.
Armin Mizani, Mayor of Keller, Texas, also announced the death of Terry Barker, a former member of the Keller City Council. He posted a condolence message on Facebook saying that the City of Keller was grieving Terry Barker, a husband, father, and army veteran.
Major Curtis J. Rowe, a veteran of the Civil Air Patrol in Ohio with more than 30 years of serving in the agency, was among those who died. The agency commander, Colonel Peter Bowden, said that Major Rowe served in various positions in the agency and was the Ohio Wing maintenance officer at the time of his death.
Hank Coates, President of the Commemorative Air Force, spoke about the tragedy in a Saturday press conference, saying that the B-17 aircraft usually has a four or five-person crew. On that tragic day, it had five crew members.
Luckily, no spectators were injured, though the debris from the collision flew to Highway 67 and as far as a strip mall near the airport.
Initially, the Federal Aviation Authority led the investigation into the crash, but the NTSB took over. According to the NTSB, the team sent to investigate included technical experts who regularly investigate airplane crashes. The preliminary report should be completed in four to six weeks, but a final report could take much longer.
According to the Wings Over Dallas website, the event, which was supposed to be a three-day event and run until Sunday, was cancelled.
