6 victims recognized after lethal collision between World War II-era planes at Wings Over Dallas air present

Officials have launched the names of the six folks killed in a lethal collision between two classic army plane at a Dallas air present. The Commemorative Air Force, which placed on the present, on Monday recognized the victims as: Terry Barker, Craig Hutain, Kevin “K5” Michels, Dan Ragan, Leonard “Len” Root, and Curt Rowe.

They died Saturday when a World War II-era bomber and a fighter aircraft collided and crashed in a ball of flames, horrifying spectators who had gathered for the air present, which opened on Veterans’ Day.

Several movies posted on social media present the fighter aircraft flying into the bomber.

Armin Mizani, the mayor of Keller, Texas, stated Barker was a retired pilot who lived in Keller, a city of fifty,000, the place lots of the residents know one another.

“It’s definitely a big loss in our community,” he stated. “We’re grieving.”

Barker was an Army veteran who flew helicopters throughout his army service. He later labored for American Airlines for 36 years earlier than retiring in 2020, Mizani stated.

Barker is survived by his spouse, two sons, daughter-in-law, and grandson, CBS DFW reported.

The metropolis deliberate to take down its annual Field of Honor memorial on Sunday, however officers determined to go away it up in Barker’s honor, the station reported. A candlelight vigil and flag retirement ceremony in his reminiscence had been additionally deliberate.

Rowe, a member of the Ohio Wing Civil Air Patrol, was a crew chief on the B-17, his brother-in-law Andy Keller informed The Associated Press on Sunday. Rowe, of Hilliard, Ohio, did air exhibits a number of occasions a yr as a result of he fell in love with WWII plane, Keller stated.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the collision, together with why each plane had been flying on the similar altitude and in the identical air house, NTSB member Michael Graham stated at a Sunday news convention.

The crash got here three years after the crash of a bomber in Connecticut that killed seven, and amid ongoing concern concerning the security of air exhibits involving older warplanes. The firm that owned the planes flying within the Wings Over Dallas present has had different crashes in its greater than 60-year historical past.

Investigators will study the wreckage from each plane, conduct interviews of crews current on the air present and acquire pilot coaching and plane upkeep information.

“We’ll look at everything that we can and we’ll let the evidence basically lead us to the appropriate conclusions. At this point, we will not speculate” on the trigger, Graham stated.

A preliminary report from the NTSB is anticipated in 4 to 6 weeks, whereas a ultimate report will take as much as 18 months to finish.

A spokesperson stated the NTSB is working with the Commemorative Air Force to assemble coaching information and working procedures. Experts have raised questions on whether or not errors made by the volunteer group, which hosted the air present, could have contributed to the crash, CBS DFW reported.

Neither plane was outfitted with an in-flight black field recorder. The company can also be working with the FAA to find out if any legal guidelines or laws had been damaged.

The B-17, a cornerstone of U.S. air energy throughout World War II, is an immense four-engine bomber that was utilized in daylight raids in opposition to Germany. The Kingcobra, a U.S. fighter aircraft, was used principally by Soviet forces through the warfare. Most B-17s had been scrapped on the finish of World War II and solely a handful stay at present, largely featured at museums and air exhibits, in response to Boeing.