BREAKING: Mid-air collision between two planes at an airshow in Dallas

[SEIndSAM]

MID-AIR COLLISION: Airshow disaster caught on video as planes crash into each other

Two planes in Texas collided in midair during the Commemorative Air Force air event at Dallas Executive Airport on Saturday afternoon.

www.foxnews.com

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

What was he thinking?

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

 

[tim87tr]

Just awful. This shows the faster plane listed as a Bell P-63 KingCobra coming down onto the B-17.

 

[Super Bee]

Sad for the families of those involved.

Also stinks to lose those aircraft. Not many of those beautiful B-17's left.

 

[MindfulMan]

Sickening.

 

[Basher]

What was he thinking?

Various angles make it look like the Cobra pilot was in a left turn, which would have severely limited his ability to see the B-17.

Regardless of what happened, this is horrific and tragic news.

 

[Twangbanger]

Every. Damn. Year. Shxt like this is going to run all but the largest airshows out of the business of having multiple planes in the air. The insurance will eventually turn the smaller ones into static ground displays.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Do these airshows have some kind of traffic control? Or are things happening so quickly that they can't advise pilots when they're getting too close to another aircraft?

 

[Gabriel]

Various angles make it look like the Cobra pilot was in a left turn, which would have severely limited his ability to see the B-17.

That was my take after seeing it also.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

 

[chuckp]

Was there no planning before flying these planes together? Another reason I hate aviation.

 

[avboiler11]

Was there no planning before flying these planes together? Another reason I hate aviation.

Every airshow has a pretty extensive brief for performers.

Something went VERY wrong today, and I suspect it resided within the P-63.

 

[DragonGunner]

King Cobra pilot is fully responsible. The B17 was flying a straight line. Pilot error or disregarding a safety procedures by the King Cobra. Thats my 2 cents after seeing this....will be waiting for Dan Gryder report shortly.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Yes. Blind spot. Absolutely. P63 descending, and beween the low wing and the nose, he appears to have lost track of the fortress and went right through the tail behind the wings.

He was the lucky one. He had no warning/idea what was happening before he was likely killed/unconscious by the time he exited the B17. The Fortress crew had a few seconds to register it was hit and was about to go down. So sad.
That is my take given the multiple angles floating around.

 

[Twangbanger]

Do these airshows have some kind of traffic control? Or are things happening so quickly that they can't advise pilots when they're getting too close to another aircraft?

I know a lot of these pilots are volunteers and have day jobs flying other kinds of rides, but most of those day jobs, even if you have thousands of hours, do not prepare you for this kind of performance. Flying at low altitude with other planes in the air is big-boy stuff. Any number of planes working over spectators requires everybody to have their space, stay in it, communicate, etc. It is very lucky nobody else got hurt.

 

[femurphy77]

Dammit.

 

[avboiler11]

The B17 crew were retired AA Captains, the P63 pilot a UAL Captain. All had tens of thousands of flight hours, including significant warbird/airshow experience.

A horrible, horrible accident.

 

[jedi]

Sad for the families of those involved.

Also stinks to lose those aircraft. Not many of those beautiful B-17's left.

IIRC now only 8 flyable B-17s left in the world.

 

[indyjohn]

In my current life situation, I have a lot of thoughts about this event.

The P63 pilot will likely be found to be at fault. Negligence is an individual's poor decision at a point in time. It can impact only the individual and/or others. This happens way more often on public highways and streets than is reported on the news. Way more. When someone dies in an auto crash because of someone else's negligence, that is a tragedy. The innocent victim has no play in the negligent actor's action, they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The P63 pilot died due to his poor decision, that is on him. The B-17 crew didn't deserve to die, they unfortunately were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Here is my point: People die every day in vehicle collisions, across the nation - a lot. Those victims were just trying to get from point A to point B, they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Their deaths are senseless, it surely could have been avoided. It is sad they died, but it is different from the tragedy in Dallas today. Those flyers today, in the 3 seconds from collision to ground contact, their brains didn't have time to process that they were about to die. These capable men flying vintage aircraft died today doing something they loved.

I could only be so lucky.