Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Dallas air show collision probed
Cause remains unknown in WWII-plane crash that killed six
DALLAS — A national transportation official probing the cause of a midair crash of two historic military planes during an air show that left six people dead said Sunday one of the key questions investigators were seeking to answer is why the aircraft were seemingly sharing the same space just before impact.
A World War II-era B-17 bomber and a P- 63 fighter plane collided and crashed to the ground in a ball of flames on Saturday, leaving crumpled wreckage in a grassy area inside the Dallas Executive Airport perimeter, about 10 miles from the city’s downtown. Several videos posted on social media showed the fighter plane flying into the bomber.
“One of the things we would probably most likely be trying to determine is why those aircraft were co-altitude in the same air space at the same time,” Michael Graham, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, said at a news conference Sunday.
The crash came three years after the crash of another B-17 bomber in Connecticut that killed seven, and amid ongoing concern about the safety of air shows involving older warplanes. The company that owned the planes flying in the Wings Over Dallas show has had other crashes in its more than 60-year history.
The crash claimed six lives, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins tweeted Sunday, citing the county medical examiner. Authorities are continuing to work to identify the victims, he said. Dallas Fire-Rescue said there were no reports of injuries on the ground.
Armin Mizani, the mayor of Keller, Texas, said Terry Barker, a retired pilot who lived in Keller, was in the B-17 bomber that crashed. Mizani said he learned of Barker’s death from his family.
Mizani said Barker’s death has been difficult for his town of 50,000, where many of its residents know each other.
“It’s definitely a big loss in our community,” he said. “We’re grieving.”
Barker was an Army veteran who flew helicopters during his military service. He later worked for American Airlines for 36 years before retiring in 2020, Mizani said.
Maj. Curtis J. Rowe, a member of the Ohio Wing Civil Air Patrol, was a crew chief on the B-17, his brother-in-law Andy Keller told The Associated Press on Sunday. Rowe, of Hilliard, Ohio, did air shows several times a year because he fell in love with WWII aircraft, Keller said.
The Federal Aviation Administration also was going to investigate, officials said. The planes collided and crashed about 1:20 p.m., the FAA said.
Graham said five people were in the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber and a pilot was the only person in the Bell P-63 Kingcobra fighter plane. The aircraft are owned by Commemorative Air Force, the company that put on the air show. The aircraft are flown by highly trained volunteers, often retired pilots, said Hank Coates, president of Commemorative Air Force.
John Cudahy is president of the International Council of Air Shows, a trade group that sets the standards air shows follow and oversees the training of pilots and “air bosses,” who serve as the flight controller for an event. Cudahy said that typically at air shows there is a Friday rehearsal where the pilots fly through the entire show to practice, so the Saturday show is actually the second time the pilots have flown the show. There are also detailed briefings each day to go over the plan for the air show and cover exactly where each pilot will be and their roles in the show.
“It’s still too early to figure out what happened yesterday. I’ve watched the tape several times and I can’t figure it out and I’ve been doing this for 25 years,” Cudahy said.
Investigators will review the wreckage from both aircraft, as well as conduct interviews of crews who were at the air show and obtain pilot training and aircraft maintenance records.
“We’ll look at everything that we can and we’ll let the evidence basically lead us to the appropriate conclusions. At this point, we will not speculate” on the cause, Graham said.
A preliminary report from the NTSB is expected in four to six weeks, while a final report will take up to 18 months to finish.
Air shows must obtain special waivers from the FAA and all of the pilots have to demonstrate their skills in low flying and other maneuvers used in air shows, said John Cox, a former airline captain with more than 50 years’ experience. Cox is also founder of Safety Operating Systems, a company that helps smaller airlines and corporate flight services from around the world with safety planning.
Each air show is overseen by an air boss, Cox said.
“If there’s any adjustments that have to be made, it’s the air boss that makes those calls and the pilots comply with that,” he said. In addition, any pilot with a mechanical problem would announce it to the air boss, he said.