Utah
Former Utah resident identified among victims of Dallas air show crash
Estimated learn time: 2-3 minutes
DALLAS, Texas — A former Utah resident is among the many six victims of a lethal air present crash involving two classic planes in Texas.
The planes collided throughout a “Wings Over Dallas” present on Saturday afternoon.
“That’s their annual air present, the biggest air present they do, and is attended by hundreds and hundreds of individuals,” stated Classic Aviation Museum founder Sean O’Brien. “It takes quite a lot of ability, quite a lot of coordination. These are very skilled individuals.”
Amongst these killed within the air present crash is Dan Ragan, who lived in Utah for years.
“Not solely did you lose an airplane, however extra importantly, the lack of life and people historians. It is a unhappy day, it truly is,” O’Brien stated.
The Commemorative Air Pressure Utah Wing, in a message to KSL-TV, says that it’s mourning the tragic incident.
Ragan was interviewed 11 years in the past by the Deseret Information about his time within the Navy and as a former B-17 crewmember.
He flew in a specially-modified B-17. He informed the paper on the time that it was his dream to fly the identical airplane as his older brother.
Whereas he did not know Ragan personally, O’Brien says he is aware of firsthand how air exhibits function a approach to give again to veterans like Ragan.
“For people that really have a ardour for this, akin to those that had been tragically misplaced over the weekend at that air present incident, it is one thing they honestly take pleasure in as a result of they had been doing their half to assist protect and share historical past,” he stated.
O’Brien stated it is an opportunity for them to open up and share tales of their service, passing them on to youthful generations.
“As soon as they get round that plane, the tales begin popping out, the historical past begins coming alive,” he stated.