Former Keller councilman, 67, among 6 victims of midair collision at Dallas air show

A retired American Airlines pilot who previously served on the Keller city council was among six people who died Saturday when two World War II-era planes collided in midair at the Wings Over Dallas Airshow at the Dallas Executive Airport.

In 2001, Terry Barker described to a reporter his 10-year pursuit to build an aerobatic biplane in his spare time.

“Somebody said it’s like a postman taking a walk on his day off,” he said. “But I’m very lucky because I get paid for doing what I enjoy. At work, everybody likes a nice, smooth ride. But I still like going upside down. It’s just a feeling I’ve never gotten over, that free and independent opportunity to go out and fly.”

Barker was 67. He decided in 2003 not to seek re-election after two terms in Place 5.

Keller Mayor Armin Mizani wrote in a Facebook post of turning to Barker for counsel.

“Terry Barker was beloved by many. He was a friend and someone whose guidance I often sought. Even after retiring from serving on the City Council and flying for American Airlines, his love for community was unmistakable,” Mizani wrote.

The planes involved were a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and a Bell P-63 Kingcobra, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA said the two planes collided and crashed to the ground about 1:15 p.m.

Both planes were owned and operated by the Commemorative Air Force, which hosted the Veterans Day weekend air show. Officials said the B-17 had a crew of five people, while the Kingcobra was flown by a single pilot. The National Transportation Safety Board is in charge of the investigation into the cause of the crash.

The Allied Pilots Association said in a tweet Saturday night that two of its former members were killed on board the B-17. The pilots association, which is the union that represents American Airlines pilots, identified the crew members as Barker and Len Root, who retired in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

“Our hearts go out to their families, friends, and colleagues past and present,” the tweet read.

According to a LinkedIn profile, Root, 66, lived in the Keller area and had worked as a pilot and manager for the Gulf Coast Wing of the Commemorative Air Force since October 2021. He previously worked for American Airlines for 35 years as a flight director and flight management system program controller.

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins confirmed the deaths in a tweet Sunday morning.

“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.”

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said there were no reports of injuries to spectators or other people on the ground. The debris field from the crash extended from the airport grounds to Highway 67 and a nearby strip mall, Johnson wrote in a tweet.

The Dallas Executive Airport is in the 5300 block of Challenger Drive near U.S. Highway 67 in Redbird, about 10 miles southwest of downtown Dallas.

Videos taken by witnesses and posted to social media appear to show the smaller fighter plane hit the back of the B-17 bomber as the P-63 made a turn. The planes broke apart as they fell to the ground, followed by a fiery explosion and clouds of black smoke billowing into the sky.

What is the Commemorative Air Force?

Commemorative Air Force spokesperson Leah Block said both of the rare, vintage military planes came from Houston. A Facebook page about the plane identified the B-17 as the one named Texas Raiders, which the Commemorative Air Force website calls “one of the most recognized and popular warbirds.” Out of the 12,731 B-17s built by the U.S., it was one of only five that were still flying, according to the website.

At a press conference Saturday, Commemorative Air Force President and CEO Hank Coates said the organization, which is dedicated to preserving World War II planes, has more than 12,000 volunteer members and over 180 aircraft.

“It’s difficult for me to talk about it because I know all of these people,” Coates said. “These are family and good friends.”

The crew are volunteers who are vetted carefully and trained thoroughly, he said, and many of them are retired military or airline pilots with decades of experience. He said the aircraft are “very well-maintained.”

“The maneuvers that they were going through were not dynamic at all,” Coates said. “It was what we call bombers on parade.”

The B-17, a cornerstone of U.S. air power during World War II, is an immense four-engine bomber used in daylight raids against Germany. The Kingcobra, a U.S. fighter plane, was used mostly by Soviet forces during the war. Most B-17s were scrapped at the end of World War II and only a handful remain today, largely featured at museums and air shows, according to Boeing.

Block told reporters that there were about 4,000 spectators at the event, and the collision occurred farther down the flight line, so it wasn’t directly in front of the crowd.

Block told reporters that nothing like this has happened during the 14 years she’s been with the Commemorative Air Force. This was the seventh year the show had been held in Dallas.

Air show safety

Saturday’s crash came three years after the crash of a bomber in Connecticut that killed seven, and amid ongoing concern about the safety of air shows involving older warplanes.

The Commemorative Air Force has had other crashes in its more than 60-year history, The Associated Press reported, including a deadly 1995 crash near Odessa, Texas, involving a B-26 bomber that killed five crew members, according to an NTSB report. The plane crashed while practicing for an air show. The NTSB determined that the probable cause of the 1995 crash was the failure of the pilot to maintain minimum airspeed for flight.

In 2001, two separate West Texas crashes involving planes owned by the group — one in April and one in May — killed three people. In June 2005, two people were killed when a single-engine plane owned by the group crashed in Williamson, Georgia.

Air shows must obtain special waivers from the FAA and all of the pilots have to demonstrate their skills in low flying and other maneuvers used in air shows, said John Cox, a former airline captain with more than 50 years’ experience. Cox is also founder of Safety Operating Systems, a company that helps smaller airlines and corporate flight services from around the world with safety planning.

Each air show is overseen by an “air boss” who serves as the flight controller for the event, Cox said.

“If there’s any adjustments that have to be made, it’s the air boss that makes those calls and the pilots comply with that,” he said. In addition, any pilot with a mechanical problem would announce it to the air boss, he said.

Air shows typically rely on extremely detailed plans, including contingencies for emergencies, Cox said. For example, any pilot who ran into trouble could break out of formation and go to a designated area free of other planes that is identified by a landmark of some kind.

Arthur Alan Wolk is a Philadelphia aviation attorney who flew in air shows for 12 years. After watching the air show video and hearing the maneuvers described as “bombers on parade,” Wolk told The Associated Press on Sunday that the P-63 pilot violated the basic rule of formation flying.

“He went belly up to the leader,” Wolk said. “That prevents him from gauging distance and position. The risk of collision is very high when you cannot see who you are supposed to be in formation with and that kind of joinup is not permitted.”

He added, “I am not blaming anyone and to the greatest extent possible, air shows, the pilots and the aircraft that fly in them are safe. Air shows are one of the largest spectator events in America and it is rare that a tragedy like this occurs.”

Wolk said it takes extensive training and discipline to fly in an air show setting. The air show qualifications of the P-63 pilot are not known.

Star-Telegram staff writer Harriet Ramos and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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