A video recorded by an eye-witness has shown the moment two World War II-era planes collided in midair on Saturday afternoon in a deadly crash at an airshow at the Dallas Executive Airport, United States of America.
The Federal Aviation Administration identified the planes involved as a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and a Bell P-63 Kingcobra.
The two planes collided and crashed to the ground around 1:20 p.m according to officials, who refrained from naming the number of casualties.
They however confirmed that the B-17 had a crew of four or five people, while the Kingcobra was flown by a single pilot.
No paying customers were on board. The Allied Pilots Association said in a tweet Saturday night that two of its former members were killed on board the B-17.
The pilots association, which is the union that represents American Airlines pilots, identified the crew members as Terry Barker and Len Root, who retired in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
“Our hearts go out to their families, friends, and colleagues past and present,” the tweet read.
According to a LinkedIn profile, Root lived in the Keller area and was a pilot and manager for the Gulf Coast Wing of the Commemorative Air Force.
Barker also lived in Keller, according to property records. The president of the Dallas-based Commemorative Air Force, which hosted the show and owned and operated the planes involved in the crash, said at a press conference shortly before 5 p.m. that he could not release the number or names of people who were on the planes’ manifests or their status until all next of kin had been notified and the NTSB approves the release of the information.
Dallas Mayor, Eric Johnson said there were no reports of injuries to spectators or other people on the ground.
The debris field from the crash extended from the airport grounds to Highway 67 and a nearby strip mall, Johnson wrote in a tweet.
Videos taken by witnesses and posted to social media appear to show the smaller plane hit the back of the B-17 as it made a turn.
The planes broke apart as they fell to the ground, followed by a fiery explosion and clouds of black smoke billowing into the sky.
See the video here.
