Dallas air show Victims named; NTSB investigates

14 Nov 2022

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Newslooks- DALLAS (AP)

Officials have released the names of the six people killed in a deadly collision between two vintage military aircraft at a Dallas air show.

This undated photo provided by his family shows Terry Barker. He was identified by his family as one of the six people who were killed when two historic military planes collided and crashed to the ground in a ball of flames during a Dallas air show on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022. Keller, Texas, Mayor Armin Mizani said he and other residents of the north Texas town where Barker lived are grieving his death. Barker was a retired pilot for American Airlines and had also flown helicopters while serving in the Army. (Courtesy of Barker Family via AP)

The Commemorative Air Force, which put on the show, on Monday identified the victims as: Terry Barker, Craig Hutain, Kevin “K5” Michels, Dan Ragan, Leonard “Len” Root, and Curt Rowe.

In this photo provided by Nathaniel Ross Photography, a historic military plane crashes after colliding with another plane during an airshow at Dallas Executive Airport in Dallas on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022. (Nathaniel Ross Photography via AP)

They died Saturday when a World War II-era bomber and a fighter plane collided and crashed in a ball of flames, horrifying spectators who had gathered for the air show, which opened on Veterans’ Day.

In this photo provided by Larry Petterborg, firefighters work at the crash scene after a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and a Bell P-63 Kingcobra collided in the midair during an airshow at Dallas Executive Airport in Dallas, Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022. (Larry Petterborg via AP)

Several videos posted on social media show the fighter plane flying into the bomber.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the collision, including why both aircraft were flying at the same altitude and in the same air space, NTSB member Michael Graham said at a Sunday news conference.

Debris from two planes that crashed during an airshow at Dallas Executive Airport lie on the ground Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

The crash came three years after the crash of a 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.

People leave the Dallas Executive Airport where two historic military planes crashed during an airshow, Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Investigators will examine the wreckage from both aircraft, conduct interviews of crews present 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 damaged plane sits at the Dallas Executive Airport in Dallas after two historic military planes collided and crashed on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022. (Liesbeth Powers/The Dallas Morning News via AP)

A preliminary report from the NTSB is expected in four to six weeks, while a final report will take up to 18 months to complete.

The B-17, a cornerstone of U.S. air power during World War II, is an immense four-engine bomber that was used in daylight raids against Germany. The Kingcobra, a U.S. fighter plane, was used mostly by Soviet forces during the war. Most B-17s were scrapped at the end of World War II and only a handful remain today, largely featured at museums and air shows, according to Boeing.