DALLAS (AP) — A nationwide transportation official probing the reason for a midair crash of two historic navy planes throughout an air present that left six individuals useless stated Sunday that one of many key questions for investigators is why the plane had been seemingly sharing the identical area simply earlier than affect.
A World War II-era bomber and a fighter aircraft collided and crashed to the bottom in a ball of flames on Saturday, leaving crumpled wreckage in a grassy space contained in the Dallas Executive Airport perimeter, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from town’s downtown. Several movies posted on social media confirmed the fighter aircraft flying into the bomber.
“One of the things we would probably most likely be trying to determine is why those aircraft were co-altitude in the same air space at the same time,” Michael Graham, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, stated at a information convention.
The crash got here three years after the crash of a bomber in Connecticut that killed seven, and amid ongoing concern concerning the security of air exhibits involving older warplanes. The firm that owned the planes flying within the Wings Over Dallas present has had different crashes in its greater than 60-year historical past.
The crash claimed six lives, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins tweeted Sunday, citing the county health worker. Authorities are persevering with work to determine the victims, he stated. Dallas Fire-Rescue stated there have been no stories of accidents on the bottom.
Armin Mizani, the mayor of Keller, Texas, stated Terry Barker, a retired pilot who lived in Keller, was within the B-17 bomber that crashed. Mizani stated he realized of Barker’s loss of life from his household.
Mizani stated Barker’s loss of life has been tough for his city of fifty,000, the place lots of the residents know one another.
“It’s definitely a big loss in our community,” he stated. “We’re grieving.”
Barker was an Army veteran who flew helicopters throughout his navy service. He later labored for American Airlines for 36 years earlier than retiring in 2020, Mizani stated.
Maj. Curtis J. Rowe, a member of the Ohio Wing Civil Air Patrol, was a crew chief on the B-17, his brother-in-law Andy Keller advised The Associated Press on Sunday. Rowe, of Hilliard, Ohio, did air exhibits a number of instances a 12 months as a result of he fell in love with WWII plane, Keller stated.
The Federal Aviation Administration additionally was going to research, officers stated. The planes collided and crashed about 1:20 p.m., the FAA stated.
Graham stated 5 individuals had been within the B-17 Flying Fortress bomber and a pilot was the one individual within the P-63 Kingcobra fighter aircraft. The plane are owned by Commemorative Air Force, the corporate that placed on the air present. The plane are flown by extremely skilled volunteers, typically retired pilots, stated Hank Coates, president of Commemorative Air Force.
John Cudahy is president of the International Council of Air Shows, a commerce group that units the requirements air exhibits comply with and oversees the coaching of pilots and “air bosses,” who function the flight controller for an occasion. Cudahy stated that usually at air exhibits there’s a Friday rehearsal the place the pilots fly by the complete present to apply, so the Saturday present is definitely the second time the pilots have flown the present. There are additionally detailed briefings every day to go over the plan for the air present and canopy precisely the place every pilot will likely be and their roles within the present.
“It’s still to early to figure out what happened yesterday. I’ve watched the tape several times and I can’t figure it out and I’ve been doing this for 25 years,” Cudahy stated.
Investigators will study the wreckage from each plane, conduct interviews of crews current on the air present and procure pilot coaching and plane upkeep information.
“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 trigger, Graham stated.
A preliminary report from the NTSB is predicted in 4 to 6 weeks, whereas a closing report will take as much as 18 months to finish.
Air exhibits should get hold of particular waivers from the FAA and all the pilots must exhibit their abilities in low flying and different maneuvers utilized in air exhibits, stated John Cox, a former airline captain with greater than 50 years’ expertise. Cox can be founding father of Safety Operating Systems, an organization that helps smaller airways and company flight companies from all over the world with security planning.
Each air present is overseen by an air boss, Cox stated.
“If there’s any adjustments that have to be made, it’s the air boss that makes those calls and the pilots comply with that,” he stated. In addition, any pilot with a mechanical drawback would announce it to the air boss, he stated.
Air exhibits usually depend on extraordinarily detailed plans, together with contingencies for emergencies, Cox stated. For instance, any pilot who bumped into hassle may get away of formation and go to a chosen space freed from different planes that’s recognized by a landmark of some sort.
The B-17, a cornerstone of U.S. air energy throughout World War II, is an immense four-engine bomber utilized in daylight raids in opposition to Germany. The Kingcobra, a U.S. fighter aircraft, was used largely by Soviet forces throughout the warfare. Most B-17s had been scrapped on the finish of World War II and solely a handful stay at this time, largely featured at museums and air exhibits, in accordance with Boeing.
The Commemorative Air Force has had earlier crashes throughout its greater than 60-year historical past, together with a lethal 1995 crash close to Odessa, Texas, involving a B-26 bomber that killed 5 crewmembers, in accordance with an NTSB report. The aircraft crashed whereas working towards for an air present. The NTSB decided that the possible trigger was the failure of the pilot to take care of minimal airspeed for flight.
In 2001, two separate West Texas crashes involving planes owned by the group — one in April and one in May — killed three individuals. In June 2005, two individuals had been killed when a single-engine aircraft owned by the group crashed in Williamson, Georgia.
The Commemorative Air Force, beforehand referred to as the Confederate Air Force till members modified its identify in 2001 to keep away from any affiliation with the Civil War, had been headquartered in Midland, Texas, however relocated to Dallas in 2014.
Wings Over Dallas payments itself as “America’s Premier World War II Airshow,” in accordance with a web site promoting the occasion. The present was scheduled for Nov. 11-13, Veterans Day weekend, and friends had been to see greater than 40 World War II-era plane. Its Saturday afternoon schedule of flying demonstrations included the “bomber parade” and “fighter escorts” that featured the B-17 and P-63.
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Funk reported from Omaha, Nebraska, and Lozano reported from Houston.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”