On November 12, 2022, a local air show ended in tragedy as planes crashed in mid-air at the Wings Over Dallas Airshow at the Dallas Executive Airport.
The death toll from the crash has risen to six, according to officials.
In a statement posted to his Twitter account, Judge Clay Jenkins confirmed the death toll.
“According to our Dallas County Medical Examiner there are a total of 6 fatalities from yesterday’s Wings over Dallas air show incident,
“Authorities will continue working today on the investigation and identification of the deceased. Please pray for their families and all involved,” Jenkins wrote.
Officials have not yet released the identities of the victims, but the Allied Pilots Association said that two of the six fatalities were former APA members, identified as Terry Baker and Len Root, in a social media post.
A Boeing B-17 and a Bell-P 63 Kingcobra crashed at about 1:20 p.m., according to The Federal Aviation Administration.
According to a witness of the event who spoke to The Dallas Express not too far from the incident, multiple planes were involved.
“Both planes were making circles,” said Darrell Washington, a spectator watching the air show.
“We saw the big one sitting on the runway. And he took off and made about six rounds in the air. And when he was coming in, a small plane showed up in the air, and he came around, was going so fast, and couldn’t stop and just smashed right into the big one and exploded right in front of our eyes,” Washington said.
A video of the incident has been shared on social media.
Dallas Police shut down parts of Highway 67, causing stand-still traffic as plumes of smoke could be seen for miles.
At the intersection of Hampton Rd. and Redbird Ln., police blocked off lanes traveling Northbound toward the airport.
From afar, multiple fire crews could be seen near the crash as smoke came from one of the planes.
WFAA reported debris from the collision could be seen on Highway 67.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate, and the NTSB will lead the investigation and provide updates.
Updated on November 13, 2022, at 5:45 PM CST.
I saw a video of the crash. I dunno, but it looked intentional by the smaller plane. Who in the hell was running the show? This is blatant incompetence. Are we just giving pilot’s licenses out for coupons? The site I saw said 6 people died. Who were the other 4…bystanders?
I had the same first impression but hopefully I’m wrong.
It’s my understanding that they were doing a move where the smaller plane would go in front of the larger plane. The radio guy told him to go ahead, but when he started to do that, the big plane was in his blind spot and he misjudged the distance between the planes.
The large plane had 5 crew in it, and the small plane only had the pilot.