Vintage military planes collide mid-air during exhibit in Dallas

A Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and a Bell P-63 Kingcobra collided and went down during the Wings Over Dallas airshow around 1:20 p.m. on Saturday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

“At this time, it is unknown how many people were on both planes,” the FAA said in a statement.

Authorities responded to the incident at Dallas Executive Airport, Jason Evans of the Dallas Fire-Rescue told CNN.

There are currently more than 40 fire units on scene, the agency’s active incidents page shows.

At a news conference Saturday afternoon, Hank Coates, president and CEO of the Commemorative Air Force, told reporters that the B-17 “normally has a crew of four to five. That was what was in the plane”, while the P-63 is a “single-pilot fighter plane”.

“I can tell you it had a normal crew,” Coates said. “I cannot release the number of people on the registry or the names listed until the NTSB gives me permission to do so.”

The Commemorative Air Force identified both aircraft as being out of Houston.

“We currently have no information on the status of the flight crews as emergency services work on the accident,” a statement from the group said, adding that it is collaborating with local authorities and the FAA.

The FAA is currently leading the investigation, which is due to be turned over to the NTSB at approximately 9 p.m. when the NTSB team arrives on the scene, Coates said.

“The maneuvers that [the aircraft] was going through were not dynamic at all,” Coates noted. “It was what we call ‘Bombers on Parade.'”

Johnson tweeted later Saturday that no injured spectators or others on the ground were reported, though the debris field from the collision includes the grounds of Dallas Executive Airport, Highway 67 and a nearby shopping mall.

The event that was scheduled for Sunday was canceled, according to the organizer’s website.