Six dead after WWII military aircraft collide at Dallas air show, officials say

Six people were killed when two historic military planes collided and crashed during a Dallas air show on Saturday, officials said.

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins tweeted: "According to our Dallas County Medical Examiner, there are a total of six fatalities from yesterday's Wings Over Dallas air show incident."

He said authorities were continuing to work to identify the victims.

The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and a Bell P-63 Kingcobra collided and crashed around 1.20pm, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement. The collision occurred during the Commemorative Air Force Wings Over Dallas show.

Emergency crews raced to the crash scene at the Dallas Executive Airport, about 10 miles (16km) from the city centre.

News footage from the scene showed crumpled wreckage of the planes in a grassy area inside the airport perimeter.

Dallas Fire-Rescue told The Dallas Morning News that there were no reported injuries among people on the ground.

Anthony Montoya, who attended the air show with a friend, saw the two planes collide.

"I just stood there. I was in complete shock and disbelief," he said.

"Everybody around was gasping. Everybody was bursting into tears. Everybody was in shock."

No paying customers were on the aircraft, Mr Coates, of Commemorative Air Force, which also owned the planes, said.

Their aircraft were flown by highly trained volunteers, often retired pilots, he said.

Dallas mayor Eric Johnson said the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) had taken control of the crash scene, with local police and fire providing support.

"The videos are heartbreaking," Mr Johnson said on Twitter.

The planes collided and crashed around 1.20pm, the FAA said in a statement.