World War II pilot killed when vintage plane crashes in Texas

In this Saturday, Nov. 17, 2018, photo firefighters and investigators look over a vintage World War II P-51D Mustang aircraft after a deadly crash in Fredericksburg, Texas. (Billy Calzada/The San Antonio Express-News via AP)

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The Associated Press

November 19, 2018 - 8:05 am

Updated November 19, 2018 - 8:10 am

FREDERICKSBURG, Texas — A group that organizes vintage fighter plane rides for veterans says a passenger who was killed when a World War II-era aircraft crashed in South Texas had been a WWII pilot.

The P-51D Mustang was participating in a flyover Saturday when it crashed in Fredericksburg, about 70 miles (110 kilometers) north of San Antonio. The pilot was also killed.

Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Orlando Moreno on Monday identified the pilot as 73-year-old Cowden Ward Jr. of Burnet and his passenger as 93-year-old Vincent Losada of San Antonio.

Freedom Flyers posted on Facebook that Ward was flying an “honored passenger, a WWII B17 pilot” when he crashed. The group says Ward often flew veterans in his plane, which was deployed in World War II and Korea.

The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA are investigating.

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