Stock photo by Richard R. Schünemann for Unsplash
A transportation safety board has published its initial report attempting to explain a horrific crash at the Wings Over Dallas show at our neighborhood’s Dallas Executive Airport, formerly Red Bird Airport.
Six people died November 12 when two small planes collided during the Wings Over Dallas air show, held annually on or around Veterans Day and known as “the Nation’s Premiere World War II Airshow.” Video of the crash is available on Facebook if you can stomach watching it.
The National Transportation Safety Board this week released its preliminary report about the deadly accident. The initial report found that the maneuvers were not adequately discussed preflight or inflight.
The report provides no clear answers as to why it happened, some news sources have interpreted, but it does indicate that the planes should have been separated laterally by 500 feet.
The lack of discussion led to the P-63 King Cobra colliding with the left side of the B-17 while in a left bank, the report shows — it details that the air traffic controller told the fighter formation to change to trail formation to fly in front of the bomber formation in the direction of the 500-foot show line, then told the bombers to fly down the 1,000-foot line. These maneuvers were not discussed preflight or in the air, a lack in communication to which the board attributes the accident.
Debris field from NTSB report
The NTSB investigates and determines the probable cause of accidents and issues safety recommendations to prevent future accidents.
“The organization is also tasked with performing special studies that concern transportation safety,” according to the flying publication SimpleFlying.com, which analyzed the report. “In times of major disaster, the NTSB coordinates the resources of the Federal Government and other organizations to assist victims and family members impacted. Today, the NTSB has almost 400 employees in five offices throughout the United States.”
The full NTSB report is available to download here. A more detailed investigation is ongoing.
Read about the airport’s history here.
