NTSB releases almost 2,000 pages on investigation into deadly 2022 Dallas airshow crash
The National Transportation Safety Board has released a nearly 2,000-page public docket with new information about the mid-air collision at an air show in Dallas in 2022 that killed six people.
The crash happened on Nov. 12, 2022, when a Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress and a Bell P-63F Kingcobra, a fighter plane, both from the World War II era, collided at the Wings Over Dallas airshow. Six people aboard the two aircraft were killed.
The new public docket, which is not a final report, explores topics including autopsy reports, pilot records, aircraft maintenance histories, aerial imagery and reports on operational factors and human performance.
The docket, which can be found at the NTSB website, currently contains 49 items, with more potentially being added later on. The longest is a 541-page document focusing on interview transcripts and statements from personnel with the Commemorative Air Force, which organized the airshow.
A preliminary report by the NTSB said the pilots of two airplanes had been directed to return to the display area just before the deadly crash.
The report did not list a cause of the mid-air collision. There’s still no estimation for how long it could be before the final investigation is completed.
The P-63F was No. 3 of a three-plane formation of historic fighters, while the B-17G led a five-plane formation of historic bombers, according to the preliminary report.
According to air show radio transmissions and aircraft surveillance data, the “air boss” directed the fighters to transition to a trail formation and fly in front of the bomber formation before proceeding near the 500-foot show line, the report said. Bombers were instructed to fly down to the 1,000-foot show line. These lines represented the distance from the air show viewing line at Dallas Executive Airport.
“When the fighter formation approached the flying display area, the P-63F was in a left bank and it collided with the left side of the B-17G, just aft of the wing section,” the report said.
Both airplanes broke apart and fell on airport property south of a runway.
The five members of the B-17 flight crew who died were Terry Barker and Leonard “Len” Root, both of Keller; Dan Ragan, of Dallas; Curtis “Curt” Rowe, of Hilliard, Ohio; and Kevin “K5” Michels, of Austin. The P-63 was flown by Craig Hutain, who was from the Houston area.
This story contains information from the Star-Telegram’s archives.
