Bomber that appeared here in jasper crashed and burned, Saturday in Dallas

The World War II B-17 bomber known as "Texas Raiders" that crashed and burned in Dallas on Saturday after colliding in midair with another aircraft had been part of the Jasper Airshows in 2011, 2012, and 2018. Based in Conroe and part of the fleet of the Commemorative Air Force, the B-17 was flying in the Wings Over Dallas Airshow when another Commemorative Air Force plane, a Bell P-63 Kingcobra, collided with the port side of the B-17 just aft of the wings. The collision instantly destroyed the P-63 and severed the rear fuselage of the B-17. Both planes went down and exploded in a ball of flames when they hit the ground. The crew of five in the B-17 and the pilot of the P-63 were all killed. The incident was captured on several cell phone cameras from numerous angles, and those who witnessed it were aghast. The B-17 Texas Raiders was built in _1947, after the end of World War II. She was in military service for eight years during the beginning years of the Cold War, protecting the American fleet as well as patrolling the coast for submarines. She was retired from military service in 1955 and purchased by a Pennsylvania company for aerial surveying work, which lasted until 1967 when she was purchased by what was then known as the Confederate Air Force, which is now the Commemorative Air Force. The local Jasper aviation community and members of the Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter #1356 based in Leesville, which worked in the shows here and "Texas Rangers" and it's crew were saddened to learn of the accident and the loss of life.