six people died when two World War II-era planes collided Saturday during an air show in Dallas, Texas, in the southern United States, a local official said on Sunday.
A Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber and Bell P-63 KingCobra fighter They collided in mid-air on Saturday afternoon, the US aviation regulator, the FAA, previously announced in a statement.
“According to the Dallas County Medical Examiner, there are a total of six fatalities from yesterday’s crash at the Wings over Dallas air show,” Dallas County Chief Elect Officer Clay Jenkins said on Twitter.
“The authorities will continue to work today on the investigation and identification of the deceased,” he added.
The collision occurred at the small Dallas Executive Airport during the 1940s Wings Over Dallas Airshow, which took place over the long holiday weekend on November 11.
Witnesses posted videos of the incident online. In one of them, one of the devices appears to break before hitting the ground.
Even the mayor of the city of Dallas, Eric Johnson, assured on Twitter that “no bystander or anyone on the ground was injured”.
For its part, the Allied Pilots Association confirmed Saturday night that two of its retired members had died aboard the B-17.
During a press conference shortly after the tragedy, Hank Coates, head of the Memorial Air Force (CAF) which organized the event, said that the B-17 normally operates with four or five crew members, while the P-63 has barely a pilot.
He added that the pilots flying these planes during these shows are experienced volunteers with “very extensive training” and are often retired military pilots.
With information from AFP
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Source: Clarin
