What we know about Commemorative Air Force, host of Dallas air show where planes collided
For 61 years, the Commemorative Air Force has worked to collect, restore and preserve World War II combat aircraft.
The Dallas-based nonprofit hosted Saturday’s air show at Dallas Executive Airport, where two warbirds collided at about 1:20 p.m. Four or five crew members were believed to be on the B-17 Flying Fortress and one in the P-63 Kingcobra.
The organization says it has more than 180 aircraft and 13,000 members. Their efforts began in 1957 when a group of former service pilots purchased a P-51 Mustang. After adding another airplane, they decided to save one of every aircraft that flew during World War II, according to the CAF website. They were chartered as a nonprofit in 1961.
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Originally known as the Confederate Air Force, the name was changed following a vote by members in 2001.
At a press conference on Saturday, Commemorative Air Force President and CEO Hank Coates said the organization’s aircraft appear around the world in shows.
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.
“The maneuvers that they were going through were not dynamic at all,” Coates said. “It was what we call bombers on parade.”
This story was originally published November 12, 2022 at 6:32 PM.
