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| Photo Credit: AP. |
Six people were reported dead after two military planes collided midair Saturday before crashing to the ground during a Dallas air show.
The accident
involved a Bell P-63 King Cobra and a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, leaving both
planes crashing to a runway followed by an explosion.
The wreckage
of the planes could be seen in a grassy area inside the Dallas Executive
Airport where emergency workers struggled to put off the blaze, according to
video taken at the scene.
The
collision happened at about 1:20 p.m. during the Air Force Wings Over Dallas
event, according to a statement by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Several
videos share on social media sites including Twitter appear to show a plane
flying forward with another quickly following behind before the second caught
up with the second and both crashed on the wings. A loud explosion could be
heard with a large plume of smoke and fire in the area.
In a post on
Facebook, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said “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 NTSB
[National Transportation Safety Board] has taken command of the crash scene
with the Dallas Police Department and Dallas Fire-Rescue continuing to provide
support. The videos are heartbreaking. Please, say a prayer for the souls who
took to the sky to entertain and educate our families today," the mayor
noted
The B-17
military plane was mostly used during World War II mostly against Germany
positions while the Kingcobra was used mostly by the Soviet military in the war
against the Nazis, according to The Associated Press.