Two historic military aircraft collide, crash during Dallas air show

Two historical subject planes collided and crashed to the crushed Saturday during an aerial amusement successful Dallas, exploding into a shot of flames and sending plumes of achromatic fume billowing into the sky. It was unclear however galore radical were connected committee the craft oregon if anyone connected the crushed was hurt.

Leah Block, a spokesperson for Commemorative Air Force, which produced the Veterans Day play amusement and owned the crashed aircraft, told ABC News she believed determination were 5 unit members connected the B-17 Flying Fortress bomber and 1 aboard the P-63 Kingcobra combatant plane. The Houston-based craft were not giving rides to paying customers astatine the time, she said.

Emergency crews raced to the clang country astatine the Dallas Executive Airport, astir 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the city's downtown. Live TV quality footage from the country showed radical mounting up orangish cones astir the crumpled wreckage of the bomber, which was successful a grassy area.

Anthony Montoya saw the 2 planes collide.

"I conscionable stood there. I was successful implicit daze and disbelief," said Montoya, 27, who attended the aerial amusement with a friend. "Everybody astir was gasping. Everybody was bursting into tears. Everybody was successful shock."

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said the National Transportation Safety Board had taken power of the clang country with section constabulary and occurrence providing support.

"The videos are heartbreaking," Johnson said connected Twitter.

The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and a Bell P-63 Kingcobra collided and crashed astir 1:20 p.m., the Federal Aviation Administration said successful a statement. The collision occurred during the Commemorative Air Force Wings Over Dallas show.

Victoria Yeager, the widow of famed Air Force trial aviator Chuck Yeager and herself a pilot, was besides astatine the show. She didn't spot the collision, but did spot the burning wreckage.

"It was pulverized," said Yeager, 64, who lives successful Forth Worth.

"We were conscionable hoping they had each gotten out, but we knew they didn't," she said of those connected board.

The B-17, an immense four-engine bomber, was a cornerstone of U.S. aerial powerfulness during World War II and is 1 of the astir celebrated warplanes successful U.S. history. The Kingcobra, a U.S. combatant plane, was utilized mostly by Soviet forces during the war. Most B-17s were scrapped astatine the extremity of World War II and lone a fistful stay today, mostly featured astatine museums and aerial shows, according to Boeing.

Several videos posted connected societal media showed the combatant level appearing to alert into the bomber, causing them to rapidly clang to the crushed and mounting disconnected a ample shot of occurrence and smoke.

"It was truly horrific to see," Aubrey Anne Young, 37, of Leander. Texas, who saw the crash. Her children were wrong the hangar with their begetter erstwhile it occurred. "I'm inactive trying to marque consciousness of it."

A pistillate adjacent to Young tin beryllium heard crying and screaming hysterically connected a video that Young uploaded to her Facebook page.

Air amusement information - peculiarly with older subject craft - has been a interest for years. In 2011, 11 radical were killed successful Reno, Nevada, erstwhile a P-51 Mustang crashed into spectators. In 2019, a bomber crashed successful Hartford, Connecticut, sidesplitting 7 people. The NTSB said past that it had investigated 21 accidents since 1982 involving World War II-era bombers, resulting successful 23 deaths.

Wings Over Dallas bills itself arsenic "America's Premier World War II Airshow," according to a website advertizing the event. The amusement was scheduled for Nov. 11-13, Veterans Day weekend, and guests were to spot much than 40 World War II-era aircrafts. Its Saturday day docket included flying demonstrations including a "bomber parade" and "fighter escorts" featured the B-17 and P-63.

Videos of erstwhile Wings Over Dallas events picture vintage warplanes flying low, sometimes successful adjacent formation, connected simulated strafing oregon bombing runs. The videos besides amusement the planes performing aerobatic stunts.

The FAA was besides launching an investigation, officials said.