On November 12, 2022, two World War II-era aircraft, a B-17 Flying Fortress and a Bell P-63 Kingcobra, collided mid-air and crashed during the Wings Over Dallas airshow at Dallas Executive Airport in Dallas, Texas, United States. The collision occurred at 1:22p.m. local time (CST, UTC−6). The airshow, which coincided with Veterans Day commemorations, was organized by the Commemorative Air Force.
Just before the crash, the air boss directed the bomber formation to fly parallel to the spectator viewing line, while the fighters were instructed to enter a trail formation and fly in front of the bombers. According to witnesses, the P-63F executed a high-speed descending banked turn onto the runway approach, colliding with the B-17 and causing both planes to break apart and burst into flames. A pilot on the ground speculated that the P-63F pilot may have misidentified a trailing bomber as the leader, leading to a tightened line and an obstructed view of the approaching B-17.
The B-17 had a crew of five while the P-63 had a single occupant. All six died as confirmed by the Dallas County Medical Examiner. Both aircraft were destroyed on impact. On November 30, the NTSB released a preliminary report, highlighting the absence of altitude deconfliction briefings and revealing that the P-63's GPS navigator failed to record any information during the flight, with the ATC audio released on January 12, 2023, confirming no altitude advice was provided.
Aircraft
The B-17 involved was Texas Raiders, a Douglas-Long Beach built B-17G-95-DL, aircraft registration number N7227C, which first entered service in 1945 and was operated by American Airpower Heritage Flying Museum. It was one of the few surviving B-17 Flying Fortress aircraft that remained airworthy. The second aircraft involved was a P-63F-1-BE Kingcobra registered N6763, which was also operated by American Airpower Heritage Flying Museum. This plane was one of only two examples of the P-63F variant ever built.
Crash
The crash occurred at 1:22p.m. local time (CST, UTC−6) at the Dallas Executive Airport during an Wings Over Dallas airshow organized by the Commemorative Air Force, a non-profit organization whose goal is to preserve historic aircraft. The airshow, hosted over a commemorative Veteran's Day weekend, had drawn more than 4,000 spectators. Both aircraft were typically piloted by highly trained volunteers, in many cases retired professional pilots. Texas Raiders was the lead aircraft of a five-bomber formation, and the P-63F was the third aircraft of a three-fighter formation.
ADS-B data and recorded radio transmissions reveal that the air boss instructed the bomber formation to follow the show line, which runs parallel to and is situated away from the spectator viewing line. Concurrently, the fighters were directed to adopt a trail formation—where wingmen fly below and behind the lead aircraft—and advance along the show line, positioning themselves in front of the bomber formation. The apparent intent, according to a pilot observing the action from the ground, was to put themselves in front of the bomber. According to witness accounts, the P-63F was performing a high-speed descending banked turn onto the runway approach. It collided with the B-17 on the rear port quarter from above, severing the B-17's fuselage from a point just aft of its wings. Both aircraft broke apart and hit the ground seconds afterward, exploding and erupting into flames.
A pilot on the ground, who observed the mid-air collision, speculated that the P-63F pilot might have mistaken one of the trailing bombers for the leader. This misidentification could have led the pilot to believe he had already cleared the bomber formation's flight path. Consequently, he tightened his trajectory and positioned the P-63F's belly towards the bomber line, inadvertently obscuring his view of the approaching B-17.
Victims
All six crew members on board both aircraft were killed, making it the Commemorative Air Force's first fatal accident in 17 years. No injuries or fatalities were reported on the ground. The five fatalities aboard the B-17 were Terry Michael Barker (67), Kevin Dimitri "K5" Michels (53), Daniel Alexander Ragan (88), Leonard Lloyd "Len" Root (66), and Curtis James Rowe (64). Craig Stephen Hutain (63) was identified as the sole pilot of the Bell P-63.