‘Terrible tragedy in our city’: Planes collide during air show at Dallas airport

Published 12:27 am Sunday, November 13, 2022

DALLAS — Two vintage warplanes collided in midair Saturday afternoon during the Commemorative Air Force Wings Over Dallas show at Dallas Executive Airport.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and a Bell P-63 Kingcobra crashed about 1:20 p.m. Dozens of Dallas Fire-Rescue vehicles responded to the airport on Challenger Drive in the Red Bird area.

It was unclear how many people were aboard the aircraft. According to Dallas Fire-Rescue, the number of causalities was unknown as of 4:15 p.m. Central, but the department confirmed that no injuries were reported among people on the ground.

The Commemorative Air Force said both planes were based out of Houston.

In videos shared on social media, the P-63 was seen colliding into the back of the B-17 as it made a turn. The front of the B-17 broke off, and the plane’s wings erupted into flames as they hit the ground.

An onlooker said “Oh my God!” in Spanish, and a large cloud of black smoke could be seen from the field where dozens of people were standing to watch the show overhead. In another video, a child could be heard asking, “Was that supposed to happen?”

Dallas Fire-Rescue said debris from the collision was strewn across the airport grounds, a nearby strip mall and nearby Highway 67. A section of the highway in southern Dallas was closed to traffic for hours.

At the airport’s entrance, police were directing traffic and letting drivers know the facility was closed. A long line of cars could be seen exiting the airport.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board were investigating the collision.

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson called the crash a “terrible tragedy in our city” in a tweet, adding that many details about the incident were still unknown.

“The videos are heartbreaking,” he wrote. “Please, say a prayer for the souls who took to the sky to entertain and educate our families today.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said he and his wife, Heidi, were praying for the people involved. “The images of this collision are incredibly distressing and we pray for the safety of everyone on the scene,” he wrote on Twitter.

Christopher Kratovil attended the aircraft show with his 12-year-old daughter, Kelsey, who shares his interest in World War II planes and history. They were among thousands of people who witnessed the crash.

When Kratovil saw the planes collide, he initially thought it might have been part of the show.

“Then it occurred to me, wait, they don’t have the capability to create a midair fireball or a midair crash,” he said. “They can’t simulate something like that, and it hit me — wow, this is real, and I can’t believe I’m witnessing a B-17 explode midair.”

Brandi Crawford and Bob Kerr, who hadn’t heard about the crash, arrived at the airport for a show set to start at 2:30 p.m., only to find the airport was closed.

“We saw a lot of traffic on the way here,” Kerr said. “We didn’t realize that it was because of a crash. I’m really concerned for the pilots and hopefully they’re OK.”

Crawford, an Air Force veteran, said Saturday was an important time to remember veterans — particularly their contributions to the Air Force and in World War II.

“There aren’t many World War II veterans left to tell us the stories and to learn from,” Crawford said.

“They were the greatest generation,” Kerr said. “Any chance I get to see what they did for us is something that I think is well worthwhile.”

Wings Over Dallas is an aircraft show hosted by the Commemorative Air Force, an organization dedicated to preserving World War II aircraft that’s based at the airport, which was formerly known as Redbird Airport.

Saturday was scheduled to be the second day of a three-day show held over Veterans Day weekend, but Friday’s events were canceled because of inclement weather. The organization’s website showed events were also scheduled to take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

The schedule for Saturday’s events included a parade of bomber planes, including the B-17, followed by fighter escorts including the P-63.

The CAF was founded as a nonprofit group in 1961, and the weekend show was part of the CAF’s Air Power History Tour, advertised as a national tour of WWII aircraft. The tour advertises that its shows include one or both of FIFI, a Boeing B-29 Superfortress, or Diamond Lil, a B-24 Liberator, — extremely rare aircraft — among a number of other planes.

According to the CAF, out of the 12,731 B-17s produced by Boeing, Vega, and Douglas worldwide, only five can actively fly.

“It’s really tragic to lose one of the last operational B-17s in the world,” Kratovil said. “It’s an important part of American history, it’s an important part of world history.”