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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 around 1:22 p.m. local time (CST, UTC−6). The airshow, which coincided with the Veterans Day commemorations, was organized by the Commemorative Air Force. Officials reported that the B-17 had a crew of five while the P-63 had a single occupant; all six were confirmed to have died by the Dallas County Medical Examiner. Both aircraft were destroyed on impact. 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 P-63F variants ever built and was one of only five P-63s that remained airworthy. It did not have a name and was painted in its original "X" test markings.
The crash occurred at the Dallas Executive Airport during an airshow that had drawn more than 4,000 spectators. Both aircraft were piloted by highly-trained volunteers, in many cases retired professional pilots. According to witness accounts, the P-63F was performing a high-speed banked turn onto the runway approach while shedding altitude. 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.
All six crew members were killed. It was the Commemorative Air Force's first fatal accident in 17 years. No injuries or fatalities were reported on the ground. In the hours following the accident, the Allied Pilots Association, a union representing American Airlines pilots, confirmed on Twitter that two of its former members, Terry Barker and Len Root, were part of the B-17 crew and died in the crash. Civil Air Patrol member Curtis J. Rowe of Hilliard, Ohio, was also among the victims, according to CAP Ohio Wing Commander, Col Peter K. Bowden. The remaining fatalities aboard the B-17 were Keven Michels and Dan Ragan. Craig Hutain was identified as the sole pilot of the Bell P-63. Ragan was a Korean War veteran who served on the naval variant of the B-17, which was renamed the PB-1W in the Navy, in the 1950s. The crashed B-17 was one of 32 B-17s that were transferred to the U.S. Navy in July 1945 and later became the first Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) airplanes in military history. Ragan served as a radio operator on the PB-1W.
On the day of the event, both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) launched an investigation into the accident. On November 14, the NTSB announced that the wreckage of the P-63 had been moved to a "secure location", while recovery of the B-17 _______. The NTSB confirmed that neither aircraft was equipped with a flight data recorder, but that a GPS navigator from the P-63 and an electronic flight display from the B-17 had been recovered and were being taken to an NTSB laboratory in Washington, D.C., to be processed for "data and relevant information".
Several Texas officials reacted publicly to the crash. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said on Twitter, "My heart goes out to all the individuals & families affected by the horrible tragedy at the Wings Over Dallas air show today. Please join me in praying for all." Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson called the accident "a terrible tragedy in our city". The president of the Commemorative Air Force, which organized the show, said that this kind of mid-air collision during an airshow was "extremely rare."