Dallas air show collision kills 6; authorities working to ID victims, officials say

A collision between two historic military planes during an air show in Dallas on Saturday afternoon has killed six people, officials said early Sunday.

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins asked the public to pray for all the families involved in the accident that took place just before 1:30 p.m. at the Wings Over Dallas World War II Airshow.

“According to our Dallas County Medical Examiner, there are a total of 6 fatalities from yesterday’s Wings over Dallas air show incident,” Jenkins tweeted. “Authorities will continue working today on the investigation & identification of the deceased. Please pray for their families and all involved.”

The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and a Bell P-63 Kingcobra collided and crashed around 1:20 p.m., the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)said in a statement. 

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While it was unclear how many people were on board each aircraft, Hall Coates, president of the Commemorative Air Force, told reporters Saturday evening that the B-17 typically carries four to five members while the P-63 was a single passenger aircraft.

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson described the accident as a “terrible tragedy in our city” and noted that there were still many unanswered questions regarding it.

“The videos are heartbreaking,” Johnson tweeted. “Please, say a prayer for the souls who took to the sky to entertain and educate our families today.

Several videos posted on social media showed the fighter plane appearing to fly into the bomber, causing them to quickly crash to the ground and setting off a large ball of fire and smoke.

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The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board said that they will investigate the incident. 

Prior to the crash, the airshow was marketed as a chance to “re-live history,” with a selection of World War Two planes on show and in action. 

The show was scheduled for Nov. 11-13, Veterans Day weekend, and the schedule included guests being able to view more than 40 World War II-era planes. 

Fox News’ Sarah Rumpf and the Associated Press contributed to this report.