In a tragic incident, two World War II-era planes collided midair at a Second World War commemorative airshow in the US, claiming the lives of six people. A video showing the horrific collision has gone viral on social media since.
The incident happened on Saturday at the Wings Over Dallas Airshow at Dallas Executive Airport in Texas.
A statement by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the planes involved in the clash were the World War Two-era Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber and a Bell P-63 Kingcobra fighter.
The videos doing rounds on social media showed the B-17 bomber flying in a straight line when the Bell P-63 Kingcobra flew into it from the left. Both collide and crash down in seconds, engulfed by flames. Their debris was seen scattered on the ground at the scene of the accident.
According to Boulder County Sheriff’s Office, two people were found dead in one wreckage, and one person in the other. However, reports claim that at least six people were feared dead. The Kingcobra was a one-seater and the Flying Fortress may have had four or five people on board.
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson took to Twitter to say that many details of the incident are "unknown or unconfirmed".
"As many of you have now seen, we have had a terrible tragedy in our city today during an airshow. Many details remain unknown or unconfirmed at this time. The National Transportation Safety Board has taken command of the crash scene with Dallas Police Department and Dallas Fire-Rescue continuing to provide support," he said in an earlier tweet.
Mayor Johnson later added that no spectators or others on the ground were injured. There were reportedly over 4,000 spectators at the time of the accident. The debris field includes Executive Airport grounds, Highway 67, and a nearby strip mall.
While the Flying Fortress, a four-engined bomber, was used in the air war against Germany in World War II, The Kingcobra was a fighter aircraft developed during the same war by Bell Aircraft but used in combat only by the Soviet Air Force. The former was also one of the most produced bombers.
Meanwhile, Hank Coates, the president of the Commemorative Air Force, told reporters that the group’s pilots were well-trained and licensed volunteers, typically former airline or military pilots. He said a midair collision at an air show like this was "extremely rare."
The F.A.A. and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash, the F.A.A. said.
