Six lifeless after classic planes collide at Texas air present By Reuters

By Wealthy McKay

(Reuters) -Six individuals had been lifeless after two classic navy planes collided midair on Saturday and crashed in flames earlier than a crowd of hundreds who got here to see them fly at a World Struggle Two commemorative air present in Dallas, officers mentioned on Sunday.

Nobody within the crowd of 4,000 onlookers was damage, and no names of the victims had been launched.

“Authorities will proceed working as we speak on the investigation & identification of the deceased,” mentioned Choose Clay Jenkins, the chief elected official within the Texas county. “Please pray for his or her households and all concerned.”

The crash concerned World Struggle Two-era planes – a Boeing (NYSE:) B-17 Flying Fortress bomber and a Bell P-63 Kingcobra fighter – that had been flying on the Wings Over Dallas Airshow at Dallas Govt Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) mentioned in a press release.

Hank Coates, the president and CEO of the Commemorative Air Pressure, a bunch devoted to the preservation of World Struggle Two fight plane, mentioned the B-17, a large four-engine bomber, usually has a crew of 4 to 5 individuals.

The P-63 is a U.S. fighter aircraft manned by a single pilot, Coates added, however he wouldn’t say how many individuals had been aboard the plane on the time of the crash.

Leah Block, the spokesperson for the Commemorative Air Pressure, which is devoted to preserving World Struggle Two plane and hosts the air present, mentioned informed the Fort Price Star-Telegram that they don’t seem to be positive why the accident occurred. Officers from the Nationwide Transportation Security Board (NTSB) began an investigation on Sunday.

Video clips posted on social media confirmed the 2 plane colliding and crashing on the bottom, engulfed by a fireball and a cloud of black smoke as a scattered cloud of shrapnel from the craft fell to a patch of scorched earth.

Earlier deadly air present disasters have occurred from each pilot and mechanical failures.

Eleven individuals had been killed and 74 individuals injured in Reno, Nevada in 2011 air present when a P-51 Mustang crashed into onlookers, because of mechanical failure, the NTSB discovered. In 2019, a B-17 bomber crashed in Hartford, Connecticut, killing seven individuals because of pilot error and insufficient upkeep, the company additionally discovered.