The six persons killed when a World War II-era bomber and a fighter jet collided on Saturday at Dallas Executive Airport during the Wings Over Dallas air display have been identified by officials.
On Saturday at around 1:20 p.m., a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and a Bell P-63 Kingcobra collided and plummeted to the ground. Several films that have been shared on social media depict the fighter plane crashing into the bomber, splitting it in two, and then exploding into flames after touching down.
Many individuals have used social media to express their sorrow, offer condolences, and offer good comments about the fatalities as authorities continue to investigate the tragedy. The victims were named as Terry Barker, Craig Hutain, Kevin “K5” Michels, Dan Ragan, Leonard “Len” Root, and Curt Rowe by the Commemorative Air Force.
What is known about each of the victims is as follows:
Former Keller City Council member and seasoned airline pilot Terry Barker. “I’m completely in disbelief. I’m completely in shock. We’re going to miss him a lot, for sure. We’re all grieving together as a community, stated City of Keller Mayor Armin Mizani.
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It’s unknown which of the two antique warplanes he was in when they collided, obscuring southwest Dallas with a grey haze. For an additional week, officials will maintain the Field of Honor in front of Keller Town Hall in Barker’s honour.
Len Root, a Bend Senior High School graduate from Oregon whose love of aviation led to a 30-year career with Fort Worth-based American Airlines, was identified as the B-17 WWII-era aircraft’s pilot. Major Curtis J. Rowe, 64, has served in the Ohio Wing Civil Air Patrol for 30 years.
Do not be alarmed this afternoon: Dallas Fire-Rescue will conduct a controlled detonation of the remaining pyrotechnics from the Dallas Commemorative Airshow at Dallas Executive Airport.
— Mayor Eric Johnson (@Johnson4Dallas) November 13, 2022
For more than 30 years, Rowe worked for the patrol. The Commemorative Air Force, based in Dallas, recruited him to join their B-17 crew by using his love of flying as motivation. Dan Ragan, Kevin “K5” Michels, and Craig Hutain Hutain, Ragan, and Michels’ information wasn’t immediately available, but we’ll update as we find out more.
Michael Graham, a member of the National Transportation and Safety Board, expressed his condolences to the families who had lost loved ones and promised that the board’s team would “methodically” and “systematically” review all the available evidence and take all relevant variables into account in order to determine probable cause.
“We’ll look at all we can and let the data, for the most part, guide us to the right conclusions. We won’t make any assumptions about the cause at this time,” Graham added. Data from flight logs and records of pilot training are currently being sought by the NTSB.
The National Transportation Safety Board, the FAA, and Commemorative Air Force will also carry out additional investigations. The NTSB will oversee the inquiry and deliver further information. They want that anyone who has video of the collision send it