November 12, 2022 — Commemorative fly-over at the Wings Over Dallas air show turned to horror when a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and a Bell P-63 Kingcobra collided at 1:22 p.m. in clear skies above Dallas Executive Airport. Both aircraft disintegrated on impact; flaming wreckage scattered across Highway 67 and an adjacent field. All six aviators aboard the two planes were killed instantly; no spectator injuries were reported.
What video shows
The B-17 (four-engine heavy bomber) was in a shallow left turn at roughly 350 ft AGL.
The single-seat P-63, significantly faster, overtook and struck the bomber from behind and slightly above, shearing the B-17’s aft fuselage.
Both aircraft dropped nose-first, fireballs visible from the grand-stand.
Casualties
B-17 crew (5): pilot, co-pilot, navigator, bombardier, tail-gunner — all volunteers with the Commemorative Air Force (CAF).
P-63 pilot (1): experienced airline captain and CAF instructor pilot.
Investigation findings (preliminary NTSB report, Sept 2023)
Air-traffic radar NOT operational for the fly-by; pilots relied on visual “see-and-avoid.”
Briefing called for the P-63 to pass behind the bomber formation; instead the fighter converged from 10 o’clock high.
No mechanical anomalies found; both aircraft had current annual inspections.
Safety changes since
CAF now mandates dedicated air-boss radio frequency and ADS-B Out transponders on all war-birds during formation maneuvers.
FAA issued 2024 directive requiring formal risk-assessment worksheets for any multi-ship heritage flights at public events.
Tribute
A fly-over salute with missing-man formation was held at the 2023 show; memorial bricks bearing the six names line the airport’s heritage walkway.
Bottom line
Six volunteers who spent weekends preserving 1940s history became part of it that afternoon. The crash is a stark reminder that vintage metal, low altitude, and crowd-pleasing maneuvers demand modern safety oversight—even when the planes are 80 years old.
