DALLAS — The National Transportation Safety Board released its final report Thursday on the 2022 Dallas air show plane crash that killed six people with new details about what they believe led to the crash.
The NTSB released preliminary findings Monday showing Inadequate planning and oversight led to the crash.
A Boeing B-17G bomber and a Bell P-63F fighter crashed Nov. 12, 2022, at the Commemorative Air Force’s Wings Over Dallas Air Show, killing all five aboard the B-17G and the sole occupant of the Bell P-63F, officials say.
Among those killed were Terry Barker, Maj. Curtis Rowe, Craig Hutain, Len Root, Dan Ragan and Kevin “K5” Michels.
No one on the other six airplanes involved in the performance nor anyone on the ground was injured, according to the NTSB.
The accident occurred as the eight airplanes involved in the performance were completing a repositioning turn, which involved a 90-degree right turn followed by a 270-degree left turn,” the NTSB said Monday. “The P-63F was in a descending left-banked turn when it struck the left wing of the B-17G from behind.”
NTSB says they concluded that a lack of an aircraft separation plan briefed before the show and other administrative controls to address potential risks contributed to the crash.
“The air boss, equipped with binoculars and a two-way radio, directed the air show pilots’ inflight maneuvers and ground movements from atop a set of stairs on the airfield. Investigators found that although the air boss had conducted the FAA-required preshow briefing, no deconfliction plan to ensure vertical or lateral separation between airplanes was discussed, nor did current regulations require it,” the NTSB said.
Officials say some pilots in interviews with crewmembers from other planes that performed in the show said they were confused by the air boss’ “long stream of instructions.”
The NTSB says they found the air show industry lacks standardized terms to share directives to pilots, and the Federal Aviation Administration and the International Council of Air Shows “had not adequately considered the need to better mitigate the collision risks associated with performances involving multiple dissimilar aircraft.”
Other safety issues NTSB identified include a lack of requirements for recurrent evaluations of air bosses, inadequate air show safety assessment and reporting issues within the Commemorative Air Force and insufficient regulatory oversight.
The NTSB recommended the FAA and the International Council of Air Shows work together with air show industry stakeholders to develop standardized terms to help ensure clarity of instructions to performers, and that they work to establish standard operating procedures for air show organizers to put controls in place to ensure air show plane separation, and a safety risk assessment is conducted for each performance.
The NTSB also recommended the Commemorative Air Force establish a safety risk assessment process for identifying and mitigating risks, tracking safety hazards and routinely assessing trend data to include policies and procedures that specifically address the unique aspects of air show operations.