The footage was described as heartbreaking by Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson as “heartbreaking.” seconds, before bursting into flames.
Wings Over Dallas featured vintage planes
Hank Coates, president, and CEO of the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) which sponsored the airshow had a Saturday news conference. He said both of the vintage planes were hangered out of Conroe, Texas in a suburb of Houston.
The B-17 was part of the Commemorative Air Force, nicknamed the “Texas Raiders,” collection. Only about 45 of this model plane survive. Of those only 9 can fly.
The P-63 was one of only 4 airworthy planes of this model. And 1 of them is owned by the CAF.
According to Coates, the pilots and crew in Wings Over Dallas airshows are volunteers. The group has strict training requirements and processes. And most of the participants are airline pilots or retired military pilots.
“The maneuvers that they (the aircraft) were going through were not dynamic at all. It was what we call ‘Bombers on Parade,” Coates explained.
