The destruction of the two aircraft immediately after colliding; the forward section of Texas Raiders is visible at center-left, while the tail can be seen just below it, behind the vehicles in the foreground.
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 CountyMedical 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.
The crash occurred at 1:22p.m.[6] 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.[7] The airshow, hosted over a commemorative Veteran's Day weekend, had drawn more than 4,000 spectators.[7] Both aircraft were typically piloted by highly trained volunteers, in many cases retired professional pilots.[8]Texas Raiders was the lead aircraft of a five-bomber formation, and the P-63F was the third aircraft of a three-fighter formation.[9]
ADS-B data and recorded radio transmissions reveal that the air boss instructed the bomber formation to follow the 1,000 feet (300 m) show line, which runs parallel to and is situated 1,000 feet (300 m) 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 500-foot (150 m) show line, positioning themselves in front of the bomber formation.[9] The apparent intent, according to a pilot observing the action from the ground, was to put themselves in front of the bomber.[10] According to witness accounts, the P-63F was performing a high-speed descending banked turn onto the runway approach.[11] 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.[11]
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.[10] 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.[10]
Victims
All six crew members on board both aircraft were killed, making it the Commemorative Air Force's first fatal accident in 17 years.[12][13] No injuries or fatalities were reported on the ground.[14] The five fatalities aboard the B-17 were Terry Michael Barker, Kevin Dimitri "K5" Michels, Daniel Alexander Ragan, Leonard Lloyd "Len" Root, and Curtis James Rowe. Craig Stephen Hutain was identified as the sole pilot of the Bell P-63.[15][16][17]
Terry Barker was a former American Airlines pilot from 1984 to 2020, a former Army helicopter pilot (1975–1978), and former city council member in Keller, Texas.[18][19][17] Craig Hutain, the sole pilot and fatality aboard the Bell P-63, had started flying solo at the age of 17 and was a former commercial pilot for Rocky Mountain Airways (1982–1985) and United Airlines (1985–2022). Hutain started flying as a child with his father, a World War II veteran, and had been a pilot for the Tora! Tora! Tora! airshow, a reenactment of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, at the time of his death.[17]
Kevin "K5" Michels, the youngest of the deceased, was an active member of the Commemorative Air Force acting as historian, media representative, and tour supervisor for the organization.[17] Len Root was a retired commercial pilot who had flown for American Airlines from 1986 to 2021.[17][19] Dan Ragan was a U.S. Navy veteran of the Korean War who served as a radio operator in the 1950s on the naval variant of the B-17, which was designated PB-1W. He lived in Dallas and was a native of Tulsa, Oklahoma.[16][20] Major Curtis J. Rowe was from Hilliard, Ohio and was a member of the Ohio Wing Civil Air Patrol since 1988.[21][17]
Investigation
Photograph from Aviation Investigation Preliminary Report by NTSB showing the debris field following the crash
On November 30, the NTSB released a preliminary report. The report noted the lack of "altitude deconflictions briefed before the flight or while the airplanes were in the air."[9][6] That is, the aircraft were allowed to operate at the same altitude. The report also noted that the GPS navigator in the P-63 did not record any information during the flight.[9] On January 12, 2023, the ATC audio was released indicating that no altitude advice was given to the pilots.[23][24] The P-63F involved in the accident was known to have compromised visibility from the cockpit due to metal reinforcements.[25]
Public response
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."[26] Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson called the accident "a terrible tragedy in our city."[27] 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."[7]
^ abNational Transportation Safety Board (November 2022). "Accident Number: CEN23MA034"(PDF). Aviation Investigation Preliminary Report. Archived from the original on March 6, 2023. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
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