A B-17 Flying Fortress collided with a P-63 Cobra at the Wings Over Dallas Airshow Saturday afternoon, killing six experienced pilots, including a trio of former captains at American Airlines and United Airlines.
Six Dead After Dallas Air Show Crash, Including Former American And United Captains
On Saturday, the Wings Over Dallas airshow was held at the Dallas Executive Airport (RBD), formerly called Redbird Airport, about 10 miles south of downtown Dallas. The midair tragedy happened at roughly 1:20 pm when a Bell P-63 Kingcobra slammed into a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, sending both aircraft spiraling to the ground and blowing up in a massive explosion.
🚨 BREAKING AIR CRASH VIDEO: A B-17 bomber and a smaller plane collide at Dallas airshow. #Dallas #DallasAirShow #Breaking #BreakingNews pic.twitter.com/TFo5k6SEsB
— Breaking News Video (@BreakingVideoHQ) November 12, 2022
Operating the B-17 were:
- Terry Barker
- Len Root
- Curtis Rowe
- Kevin Michels
- Dan Ragan
Barker and Root were retired captains at American Airlines.
The P-63 was piloted by Craig Hutain. Hutain was a former United Airlines captain.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is now investigating, promising preliminary results in 4-6 weeks and a detailed report in about 18 months. These World War II-era aircraft do not have black boxes (nor are they required to).
The air show was put on by the Commemorative Air Force, and tragic on a historical level as well since both the P-63 and B-17 are so rare in airworthy condition. While there are about a dozen operational B-17s, this was the only known airworthy P-63.
Of course, that pales in comparison to the lives lost and makes me (once again) question why air shows are the way they are. Speaking personally, I’ve always felt uneasy at air shows and circuses…I’ve taken many risks (some foolish) in life in terms of business and travel, but doing acrobatic stunts or low flyovers in any aircraft, let alone vintage aircraft, has always struck me as foolish as walking along a tightrope.
What a privilege it was to see such vintage and historical aircraft take to the air, but how tragic to see six men lose their lives during a recreational event.
CONCLUSION
The weekend crash in Dallas was a tragedy on so many levels. Most importantly, six lives were lost after a midair collision. Two historical aircraft were also lost. An investigation is now underway to determine exactly what happened.
image: @JamesYoder / Twitter
What a horrendous happenstance, what a tragedy!! Btw Matthew, what do you mean by “ the NTSB not investigating…” ????
I think it’s a typo… should be “now investigating”, not “not investigating”
Correct.
Quite a few typos in these articles.
What the heck is this?
“These World War II-era aircraft due to not have black boxes (nor are they required to).”
I’m managing the kids on my own this morning! Cut me some slack. 😉
It reads they are now investigating, if you look at the paragraph
My condolences to the families. They were pursuing a passion and accepted the risks. God bless.
@Matthew, you said that airshows make you feel uneasy. So do we assume that you include all aircraft that are older than 5-years? What about shows by the Blue Angels, Thunderbirds, and Snowbirds? There is always some risk no matter how new (or old) the aircraft or the pilot. Just a comment from retired Navy Flight Officer.
This is unbelievably sad. I’ve been watching Blue Angels and Thunderbirds among many others since I was a kid and my pucker factor is still high when they’re literally inches from catastrophe at timrs.
This isn’t the first air show tragedy. I increasingly feel it’s best to do away with airshows. The danger is too great to the public concentrated in the stands or on the field in addition to the pilots. Of course that doesn’t mean government banning anything but I wish people decided not to do them.
77 people were killed in the 2002 Ukraine Su27 air show crash. From the B52 to the C17 to the A320, all have crashed while performing for airshows. It probably would be better to limit flying to one type of aircraft at a time for an air show.
Civil aviation is another area of growing concern even though I do want to get a private pilot license. We have seen so many nice families wiped out in a Cessna. Single engine piston aircraft that are basically unchanged from 1950s design is not ideal. We could blame over-caviler people who are hobby pilots deciding to fly in risky conditions but a tin can with a prop will tend to be in risky conditions because that type of design and strength is not adequate. More training requirements won’t do a thing because heavily experienced pilots die in the same general aviation crashes of these props.
Agreed.