Newly obtained audio from the deadly collision at a Dallas air show late last year revealed the final transmission sent to pilots and crew members inside the planes involved in the crash.
On November 12, 2022, a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and a Bell P-63 Kingcobra collided midair during the Wings Over Dallas air show that was taking place at the Dallas Executive Airport. The crash left six individuals—Terry Barker, Craig Hutain, Kevin Michels, Dan Ragan, Len Root and Curt Rowe—dead. No people on the ground at the show were injured or killed.
The Dallas Morning News reported Thursday that it had obtained a 36-minute air traffic control recording from the air show, providing a new glimpse into the time surrounding the deadly incident.
The audio, which came from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), included conversations between several pilots and the show's air boss, who heads show operations on the taxiways, runways and demonstration area.
The air boss asked the show's bombers, which included the B-17, if they could see the fighters in the minutes before the crash, the Morning News reported, citing an aviation expert who reviewed the audio. The fighters, which included the P-63, were also asked if they had the B-17 in sight.
The air boss instructed the fighters to fly along the 500-foot line away from show spectators, and for the bombers to do so as well from the 1,000-foot line. The boss then told the fighters to come through first ahead of the bombers, the Morning News reported, again citing the aviation expert.
The last transmission the air boss sent before the crash was: "Fighters will be a big pull and up to the right."
After the crash and a brief moment of silence, the air boss reportedly said: "Knock it off. Knock it off. Roll the trucks. Roll the trucks." As emergency crews began to respond to the scene, the air boss then diverted some aircraft to another nearby airport and instructed others to hold their position, the Morning News reported.
There was one pilot inside the P-63 and two pilots and three crew members inside the B-17, the Morning News added.
The National Transportation Safety Board, which has been investigating the collision, released a preliminary report on November 30, but did not specify a cause for the crash.
A spokesman for the NTSB told Newsweek that no new information on the crash was available at this time.
The Commemorative Air Force, which hosted the Wings Over Dallas show, said in a statement in late November that it "cannot speculate about any cause or causes that may have led to the accident" until the NTSB releases a final report.
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