Boeing B17 N7227C

Summary

On 12 November 2022 at about 19:22 local time, a Boeing B17 registered N7227C, operated by Commemorative Air Force, was involved in an accident near Dallas, Texas, United States. 6 people were on board and 6 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

12 November 2022 at 19:22

Classification

Accident

Location

Dallas, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Dallas Executive (RBD)

Coordinates

32.6738, -96.8628

Aircraft

Boeing B17

Registration

N7227C

Category

Airplane

Year built

1944

Engines

4

Operator

Commemorative Air Force

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Air Race/Show

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Dallas → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN23MA034

6 people died.

the air boss’s and air show event organizer’s lack of an adequate, prebriefed aircraft separation plan for the air show performance, relying instead on the air boss’s real-time deconfliction directives and the see-and-avoid strategy for collision avoidance, which allowed for the loss of separation between the Boeing B-17G and the Bell P-63F airplanes. Also causal was the diminished ability of the accident pilots to see and avoid the other aircraft due to flight path geometry, out-the-window view obscuration by aircraft structures, attention demands associated with the air show performance, and the inherent limitations of human performance that can make it difficult to see another aircraft. Contributing to the accident were the lack of FAA guidance for air bosses and air show event organizers on developing plans and performing risk assessments that ensure the separation of aircraft that are not part of an approved maneuvers package and the lack of FAA requirements and guidance for recurrent evaluations of air bosses and direct surveillance of their performance.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.