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Fatalities reported in World War II plane crash at Connecticut airport
https://abcnews.go.com/US/world-war-ii-plane-crashes-connecticut-airport/story?id=66004045&cid=clicksource_4380645_null_card_image
A World War II plane crashed at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut on Wednesday morning, resulting in an undisclosed number of fatalities, officials said.
The vintage Boeing B-17 crashed at 9:54 a.m. at the end of a runway while trying to land, sending plumes of smoke into the air. according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Fourteen were injured in the crash.
Thirteen people were on board the plane: 10 passengers and three crew members, officials said, adding a person on the ground was also injured.
Five minutes into the flight, a problem was reported to the tower, said officials. The pilot tried to return to the runway and circle around but on touchdown the plane lost control and struck a de-icing facility, officials said.
The airport -- the second largest in New England -- closed immediately after the crash. The airport is expected to reopen at 1:30 p.m. using one runway, officials said.
The World War II plane was civilian registered -- not flown by the military, according to the FAA, and was part of the Wings of Freedom tour, according to ABC New Haven affiliate WTNH.
</snip>
A World War II plane crashed at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut on Wednesday morning, resulting in an undisclosed number of fatalities, officials said.
The vintage Boeing B-17 crashed at 9:54 a.m. at the end of a runway while trying to land, sending plumes of smoke into the air. according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Fourteen were injured in the crash.
Thirteen people were on board the plane: 10 passengers and three crew members, officials said, adding a person on the ground was also injured.
Five minutes into the flight, a problem was reported to the tower, said officials. The pilot tried to return to the runway and circle around but on touchdown the plane lost control and struck a de-icing facility, officials said.
The airport -- the second largest in New England -- closed immediately after the crash. The airport is expected to reopen at 1:30 p.m. using one runway, officials said.
The World War II plane was civilian registered -- not flown by the military, according to the FAA, and was part of the Wings of Freedom tour, according to ABC New Haven affiliate WTNH.
</snip>
More:
Multiple dead after WWII B-17 plane crashes, erupts into flames at Bradley Airport
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/vintage-b-17-plane-crashes-erupts-flames-bradley-international-airport-n1061161
By David K. Li and Jay Blackman
A vintage World War II plane crashed shortly after takeoff, erupted into flames and killed people on board Wednesday at Bradley International Airport, just outside of Hartford, Connecticut, authorities said.
"There were fatalities," said James C. Rovella, commissioner of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, while not saying exactly how many were killed.
"Victims are very difficult to identify, we don't want to make a mistake."
The flight took off at 9:45 a.m. before reporting five minutes later that it was having difficulties, authorities said.
"We observed that the aircraft was not gaining altitude," Connecticut Airport Authority Executive Director Kevin Dillon said.
The plane tried to return to the airport when it crashed at 9:54 p.m., officials said.
There were 13 people on board the Boeing B-17, two pilots, one attendant, and 10 passengers. Another person on the ground was injured when the plane slid off the runway and slammed into a building used to house the airport's deicing equipment, officials said.
</snip>
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/vintage-b-17-plane-crashes-erupts-flames-bradley-international-airport-n1061161
By David K. Li and Jay Blackman
A vintage World War II plane crashed shortly after takeoff, erupted into flames and killed people on board Wednesday at Bradley International Airport, just outside of Hartford, Connecticut, authorities said.
"There were fatalities," said James C. Rovella, commissioner of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, while not saying exactly how many were killed.
"Victims are very difficult to identify, we don't want to make a mistake."
The flight took off at 9:45 a.m. before reporting five minutes later that it was having difficulties, authorities said.
"We observed that the aircraft was not gaining altitude," Connecticut Airport Authority Executive Director Kevin Dillon said.
The plane tried to return to the airport when it crashed at 9:54 p.m., officials said.
There were 13 people on board the Boeing B-17, two pilots, one attendant, and 10 passengers. Another person on the ground was injured when the plane slid off the runway and slammed into a building used to house the airport's deicing equipment, officials said.
</snip>
The aircraft involved was "Nine-O-Nine", a B-17G owned by Collings Foundation:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine-O-Nine
Nine-O-Nine was a Boeing B-17G-30-BO Flying Fortress heavy bomber, of the 323rd Bomb Squadron, 91st Bomb Group, that completed 140 combat missions during World War II, believed to be the Eighth Air Force record for most missions, without loss to the crews that flew it.
Service history
The original aircraft, a block 30 B-17G manufactured by Boeing, was nicknamed after the last three digits of her serial number: 42-31909. Nine-0-Nine was added to the USAAF inventory on December 15, 1943, and flown overseas on February 5, 1944. After depot modifications, she was delivered to the 91st BG at RAF Bassingbourn, England, on February 24, 1944, as a replacement aircraft, one of the last B-17s received in factory-applied camouflage paint.
A former navigator of the 91st BG, Marion Havelaar, reported in his history of the group that Nine-O-Nine completed either 126 or 132 consecutive missions without aborting for mechanical reasons, also believed to be a record. M/Sgt. Rollin L. Davis, maintenance line chief of the bomber, received the Bronze Star for his role in achieving the record.
Her first bombing raid was on Augsburg, Germany, on February 25, 1944. She made 18 bombing raids on Berlin. In all she flew 1,129 hours and dropped 562,000 pounds of bombs. She had 21 engine changes, four wing panel changes, 15 main gas tank changes, and 18 changes of Tokyo tanks (long-range fuel tanks).
After the hostilities ceased in Europe, Nine-O-Nine was returned to the United States on June 8, 1945, and was consigned to the RFC facility at Kingman, Arizona on December 7, 1945, and eventually scrapped.
A restored B-17, named after the original Nine-O-Nine, crashed on landing and caught fire at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, CT on October 2, 2019.
B-17G-85-DL, 44-83575, civil registration N93012, owned and flown by The Collings Foundation, Stow, Massachusetts, appeared at airshows marked as the historic Nine-O-Nine.
The Collings Flying Fortress was built at Long Beach, CA by the Douglas Aircraft Company and accepted on April 7, 1945. Although she was too late for combat, #44-83575 did serve air-sea rescue duties as part of the Air/Sea 1st Rescue Squadron and later in the Military Air Transport Service.
In April 1952, #44-83575 was instrumented and subjected to the effects of three different nuclear explosions. After a thirteen-year "cool down" period, #44-83575 was sold as part of an 800-ton scrap pile and Aircraft Specialties Company began the restoration of the aircraft.
Damaged skin was fabricated and replaced on site; engines and props were stripped, cleaned, repaired, and tested; four thousand feet of new control cable was installed; all electrical wiring and instrumentation was replaced.
For twenty years, without a major problem or incident, #44-83575 served as a fire bomber dropping water and borate on forest fires. She was sold in January 1986 to the Collings Foundation. Restored back to her original wartime configuration by Tom Reilly Vintage Aircraft, she represented one of the finest B-17 restorations and won several awards.
Civilian crashes
On August 23, 1987, while performing at an airshow in the Pittsburgh suburban Beaver County Airport, N93012 ("Nine-O-Nine" ) was caught by a severe crosswind moments after touchdown. The right wing lifted in the air, finally coming down too far down the runway. Despite the efforts of her crew, she rolled off the end of the runway, crashed through a chain link fence, sheared off a power pole and roared down a 100-foot ravine to a thundering stop. The landing gear sheared off, the chin turret was smashed and pushed into the nose; the Plexiglass nose was shattered; bomb bay doors, fuselage, ball turret, wing and nacelles all took a tremendous beating. Engines and propellers were also torn from their mounts. Fortunately, there were no fatalities to the crew or riders although there were injuries.
For a second time, N93012 (Nine-O-Nine ) "rose from the ashes". With nacelles from the famed B-17 "Shoo Shoo Baby", thousands of volunteer hours at Air Heritage Aircraft Restoration Inc., support from the people of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, and donations from individuals and corporations, she was made whole again to carry on the proud and rugged heritage of the B-17.
Since the crash at Beaver County Airport N93012 (Nine-O-Nine) has succeeded in visiting over 1200 tour stops.
On July 9, 1995 N93012 (Nine-O-Nine ) once again crashed, this time near Norfolk, Nebraska.
2019 crash
On the morning of October 2, 2019, N93012 ("Nine-O-Nine" ) crashed shortly after takeoff from KBDL (Bradley International Airport). There were two fatalities and multiple injuries reported in the crash and the airport was shut down after the accident.
Nine-O-Nine was a Boeing B-17G-30-BO Flying Fortress heavy bomber, of the 323rd Bomb Squadron, 91st Bomb Group, that completed 140 combat missions during World War II, believed to be the Eighth Air Force record for most missions, without loss to the crews that flew it.
Service history
The original aircraft, a block 30 B-17G manufactured by Boeing, was nicknamed after the last three digits of her serial number: 42-31909. Nine-0-Nine was added to the USAAF inventory on December 15, 1943, and flown overseas on February 5, 1944. After depot modifications, she was delivered to the 91st BG at RAF Bassingbourn, England, on February 24, 1944, as a replacement aircraft, one of the last B-17s received in factory-applied camouflage paint.
A former navigator of the 91st BG, Marion Havelaar, reported in his history of the group that Nine-O-Nine completed either 126 or 132 consecutive missions without aborting for mechanical reasons, also believed to be a record. M/Sgt. Rollin L. Davis, maintenance line chief of the bomber, received the Bronze Star for his role in achieving the record.
Her first bombing raid was on Augsburg, Germany, on February 25, 1944. She made 18 bombing raids on Berlin. In all she flew 1,129 hours and dropped 562,000 pounds of bombs. She had 21 engine changes, four wing panel changes, 15 main gas tank changes, and 18 changes of Tokyo tanks (long-range fuel tanks).
After the hostilities ceased in Europe, Nine-O-Nine was returned to the United States on June 8, 1945, and was consigned to the RFC facility at Kingman, Arizona on December 7, 1945, and eventually scrapped.
A restored B-17, named after the original Nine-O-Nine, crashed on landing and caught fire at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, CT on October 2, 2019.
B-17G-85-DL, 44-83575, civil registration N93012, owned and flown by The Collings Foundation, Stow, Massachusetts, appeared at airshows marked as the historic Nine-O-Nine.
The Collings Flying Fortress was built at Long Beach, CA by the Douglas Aircraft Company and accepted on April 7, 1945. Although she was too late for combat, #44-83575 did serve air-sea rescue duties as part of the Air/Sea 1st Rescue Squadron and later in the Military Air Transport Service.
In April 1952, #44-83575 was instrumented and subjected to the effects of three different nuclear explosions. After a thirteen-year "cool down" period, #44-83575 was sold as part of an 800-ton scrap pile and Aircraft Specialties Company began the restoration of the aircraft.
Damaged skin was fabricated and replaced on site; engines and props were stripped, cleaned, repaired, and tested; four thousand feet of new control cable was installed; all electrical wiring and instrumentation was replaced.
For twenty years, without a major problem or incident, #44-83575 served as a fire bomber dropping water and borate on forest fires. She was sold in January 1986 to the Collings Foundation. Restored back to her original wartime configuration by Tom Reilly Vintage Aircraft, she represented one of the finest B-17 restorations and won several awards.
Civilian crashes
On August 23, 1987, while performing at an airshow in the Pittsburgh suburban Beaver County Airport, N93012 ("Nine-O-Nine" ) was caught by a severe crosswind moments after touchdown. The right wing lifted in the air, finally coming down too far down the runway. Despite the efforts of her crew, she rolled off the end of the runway, crashed through a chain link fence, sheared off a power pole and roared down a 100-foot ravine to a thundering stop. The landing gear sheared off, the chin turret was smashed and pushed into the nose; the Plexiglass nose was shattered; bomb bay doors, fuselage, ball turret, wing and nacelles all took a tremendous beating. Engines and propellers were also torn from their mounts. Fortunately, there were no fatalities to the crew or riders although there were injuries.
For a second time, N93012 (Nine-O-Nine ) "rose from the ashes". With nacelles from the famed B-17 "Shoo Shoo Baby", thousands of volunteer hours at Air Heritage Aircraft Restoration Inc., support from the people of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, and donations from individuals and corporations, she was made whole again to carry on the proud and rugged heritage of the B-17.
Since the crash at Beaver County Airport N93012 (Nine-O-Nine) has succeeded in visiting over 1200 tour stops.
On July 9, 1995 N93012 (Nine-O-Nine ) once again crashed, this time near Norfolk, Nebraska.
2019 crash
On the morning of October 2, 2019, N93012 ("Nine-O-Nine" ) crashed shortly after takeoff from KBDL (Bradley International Airport). There were two fatalities and multiple injuries reported in the crash and the airport was shut down after the accident.
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I sat in the Radio Op's position - same position Norman Lear had on a B-17 in WW2 (and where Eric Stoltz sat in the movie 
).
I am sure others here would be so interested in your two videos..many vets I would suspect right here at DU....thank you for the many thoughts I will have throughout this day..breathtaking...
