No fewer than six people lost their lives on Sunday when a pair of World-War-II-era planes collided in mid-air and crashed to the ground.
The victims of the plane crash which happened during a show in Dallas, the United States, include pilots of the Commemorative Air Force.
The planes involved in the accident were a single-pilot Bell P-63 Kingcobra and a larger Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress.
Confirming the development, the Dallas County Judge, Clay Jenkins, twitted “According to our Dallas County Medical Examiner, there are a total of 6 fatalities from yesterday’s Wings over Dallas air show incident”.
Also, the Allied Pilots Association, the collective bargaining agent for American Airlines, confirmed via its official Twitter handle that two of its retired members died in the Texas accident.
Saying a word of prayer for the families of the deceased, the association tweeted, “Our hearts go out to their families, friends, and colleagues past and present”.
On his part, Dallas Mayor, Eric Johnson, described the incident “a terrible tragedy,” and said on Twitter that “no spectators or others on the ground were reported injured.”
The chief executive of the Commemorative Air Force, Hank Coates, whose planes were involved in the accident, said the B-17 “normally has a crew of four or five,” while the P-63 is operated by a single-pilot.
Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration in the United States said its agents and the National Transportation Safety Board would investigate the incident.
The CAF’s Coates said the pilots who operate the planes during such shows are experienced volunteers with “very thorough training” and are often retired military pilots.