B-17 Flying Fortress has crashed

[dgm458 0]

I didn't to post this under "incidents' because as far as I can tell this wasn't a skydiving operation, but it appears that the B-17 Flying Fortress has crashed after takeoff. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_bomber_crash

It appears to have caught fire while taking off and the pilot set it down in a field. Prelim reports show 7 on board with no injuries.

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Failure to prepare is preparing to fail

[Skwrl 56]

Does anyone know if it was the same B17 that was occasionally made available for skydiving operations (for a fairly hefty lift ticket price)?

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[jlmiracle 7]

Do you know which one it was? Was it the Yankee Lady?
I hope not.
Very sad this happened.

Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

[Bolas 5]

It was the Liberty Belle,owned by:
http://www.libertyfoundation.org/index.html

At least according to this article:
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=8187278

Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting
If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh.

[jlmiracle 7]

Thanks Bolas....all the other articles just refer to it a the "Flying Fortress". Still very sad.


j

Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

[dgm458 0]

Well that makes me feel a little better. I guess I didn't realize that the entire class of airplane was referred to as the "Flying Fortress."

It's still sad to lose a relic to such an accident.

*Edited to add - I just clicked on the original story. They've now changed it to "made an emergency landing" rather than "crashed" as originally reported.

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Failure to prepare is preparing to fail

[PiLFy 0]

Aw, what a shame. At the time I got to fly on the Collings Foundation's B17G a few years back. There were only thirteen B17s left flying in the world. Now, I guess there's only twelve left. The flight was a little pricey, but worth every penny for a history buff.

[david3 0]

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=4133660;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread

[masterrig 1]

I'm glad to know that all those on board survived the crash. I'm sad to know that we've lost another 'War Bird'.

I sometimes think that due to the extreme shortage of parts for these old planes that maybe, they should be on 'static' display, only. Sure, it's great to see them fly but it's sad to lose one.


Chuck

[Beerlight 0]

Quote

I didn't to post this under "incidents' because as far as I can tell this wasn't a skydiving operation, but it appears that the B-17 Flying Fortress has crashed after takeoff. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_bomber_crash

It appears to have caught fire while taking off and the pilot set it down in a field. Prelim reports show 7 on board with no injuries.

Looks like they did a great job putting in down during this off-airport emergency landing. Thanks for the update, sad to see one of these great aircraft destroyed.

[Snowwhite 0]

[
*Edited to add - I just clicked on the original story. They've now changed it to "made an emergency landing" rather than "crashed" as originally reported.

[LongWayToFall 0]

Well, on the plus side, more parts just became available....

What a bummer. About the question regarding the skydiving B17, no this was not it. That is the Colling's "Nine-0-Nine". Just got a chance to jump it a few weeks ago, actually. What a magnificent aircraft. Nothing like exiting the bomb bay...

[Scrumpot 1]

VIDEO of the aftermath, from AvWeb.com

Here is the full narrative from their report/associated article:

Quote

Video: B-17 Down, All Escape

Original, Exclusive Videos from AVweb | Reader-Submitted & Viral Videos

The Liberty Belle, a B-17 Flying Fortress operated by the Liberty Foundation of Florida, was destroyed by fire after the crew made an emergency landing in a cornfield in Illinois about 10 a.m., Monday morning. All seven people on board escaped without injury, according to the NTSB, but the airplane was a total loss. The B-17 had taken off from Aurora Municipal Airport near Oswego, Ill., flying with a T-6 in chase. It may be the pilot of the T-6 who communicated the fire on tower frequency shortly after takeoff repeating, "you're on fire, you're on fire, you're on fire!" and "put it on the ground, put it on the ground, put it on the ground!" Several local residents reported seeing the plane flying low, trailing smoke and flames. An account of the event was released Tuesday by Liberty Foundation chief pilot, Ray Fowler.

Fowler says both the B-17 and the T-6 took off uneventfully and proceeded to the southeast. Before the Fortress left Aurora's airport traffic area, the crew and passengers noticed an acrid smell and began to turn back for the airport. "Almost immediately thereafter, Cullen [flying the T-6] spotted flames coming from the left wing and reported over the radio that they were on fire." According to Fowler, within about one minute and forty seconds of that call, the B-17's crew had shutdown and feathered the aircraft's number two engine, activated the engine's fire suppression system, lowered the landing gear and performed a safe off-airport landing in the cornfield. The crew had time to unload bags before the aircraft became engulfed with flames. Fire trucks arrived but did not attempt to drive into the field judging it too soft, after the area's recent rainfall, Fowler said.

The Liberty Belle had been at Aurora to participate in a Salute to Veterans over the weekend and was scheduled to fly at events in Indianapolis, Dayton, and Cincinnati later this month. Flights were offered to the public for $430 each. The World War II-era aircraft was acquired by the Liberty Foundation in 1992 and has been flying since 2004. The NTSB is investigating.

Fowler's complete released statement on the incident, is also available on-line: HERE

BSBD Liberty Belle

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