WWII-ERA planes collide during Dallas air show
Houston, US - At least two crew members were killed when two World-war-ii-era planes collided in mid-air at a show in Dallas, a pilots association said, with witness footage showing Saturday’s crash ending in a fiery explosion on the ground.
By early on Sunday it was still unclear exactly how many people were in the two aircraft, a
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and a smaller Bell P-63 Kingcobra, the
Federal Aviation Administration said.
But the Allied Pilots Association, the collective bargaining agent for American Airlines, confirmed two of its retired members died in the Texas accident.
“Our hearts go out to their families, friends, and colleagues past and present,” the group said late on Saturday in a statement on Twitter.
It was not yet known whether
anyone survived the afternoon
crash, which occurred during the Wings Over Dallas Airshow at Dallas Executive Airport.
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson called the incident ‘a terrible
tragedy,’ and said on Twitter that
‘no spectators or others on the ground were reported injured.’
Hank Coates, the chief executive of the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) whose planes were
involved in the accident, said the B-17 ‘normally has a crew of four
or five’, while the P-63 is operated by a single-pilot.
He said the Sunday part of the air show was cancelled.
Multiple videos posted on social media showed dramatic scenes of the smaller plane de
scending towards the lower-flying B-17 and crashing into it.
After the collision, the planes appeared to break apart into several large pieces before crashing to the ground and exploding in a ball of fire, creating a huge plume of black smoke.
The crash scattered debris across the airport grounds as
well as on a nearby highway and strip mall, Johnson said.
The FAA said its agents and the National Transportation Safety Board would investigate the incident.
The CAF’S Coates said the pilots who operate the planes during such shows are experienced volunteers with ‘very thorough training’ and are often retired
military pilots.