Two dead in World War II hunting accident after overflight

FREDERICKSBURG, Texas – A Second World War-era private WWII fighter jet, which had participated in an overflight for a museum event, crashed into the parking lot of a resort complex. Apartments in Texas, killing the pilot and a passenger, authorities announced.

Texas Public Security Department, Sgt. Orlando Moreno confirmed that the two people on board had died in the Fredericksburg accident, about 70 km north of San Antonio, but he did not identify them.

The plane was destroyed and several vehicles in the parking lot were damaged, said Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Lynn Lunsford. The pictures of the accident site showed pieces of the plane above the parked vehicles. There was no immediate report of injuries or deaths on the ground.

The P-51D Mustang fighter was returning after a flyby during a live history show at the National Museum of Pacific War, told the Associated Press, the museum's director, Rorie Cartier. Fredericksburg is home to the museum. The museum said on Twitter that one of the passengers on the plane was a veteran.

"We are extremely saddened by the unfortunate accident this afternoon that took the lives of two great people, and we express our deepest condolences to the families of the two on board," said Cartier.

The Mustang was first built by North American Aviation in 1940 and was used by the US Army during the Second World War and the Korean War.

The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA have announced that they will conduct an investigation.