B-17 catches fire, crashes into Illinois cornfield

[krispos42]

This is not a repeat from 1944...

World War II bomber plane lands in flames in cornfield near Oswego

By Kim JANSSEN, Erika Wurst and Stephanie Lulay June 13, 2011 10:25AM

During 64 perilous World War II combat missions over Europe, the Liberty Belle survived the hellfire of German flak and a calamitous night in which six of the nine bombers in its squadron were destroyed.

But in sunny, clear and peaceful skies above Chicago’s western suburbs Monday morning, a working replica of the B-17 bomber caught fire shortly after take off from Aurora Municipal Airport.

Only the apparent quick thinking and skills of the pilot, John Hess, who emergency-landed the vintage plane in a muddy Oswego cornfield, saved the lives of all seven people aboard without serious injury.

“He did all of the right things,” the plane’s owner Don Brooks said of Hess as National Transportation Safety Board investigators inspected the charred wreck of the restored bomber, which has been touring the U.S. offering rides to paying passengers with the Liberty Foundation since 2004. “I’m proud of our guys.”

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http://www.suntimes.com/5936097-417/world-war-ii-bomber-plane-crashes-in-cornfield-near-oswego.html

I hope they can rebuilt it... these are historic aircraft. :-(

[rsmith6621]

1. Two Days Old.....

....old news...sorry

[wtmusic]

5. Oh crap

Not a dupe...lighten up. :eyes:

[krispos42]

7. Yeah, well, I've been busy in real life.

Nuttin' like getting up at 5:30am... :puke:


Much more fun to go to bed at 5:30am!

[A HERETIC I AM]

2. Let's hope they can indeed put her back together.

There are far too many airworthy examples of this type around.

To think of how many were built and flew back then compared to how many survive as flyable airframes is remarkable.

Of almost 12,731 built, only 51 airframes survive and of those, only 10 (now 9) are flying.

It i remarkable how many aircraft were built for WWII that are so incredibly precious these days. What is even more astounding is how many were on order and cancelled in 1945.

Let's hope she is back in the air soon.

[catabryna]

3. The photos do appear devastating...

but, look how long that plane survived!

It lasted so much longer than the men (and of course women) who died fighting that war.

The plane was equipment. The flesh and blood were human.

:patriot:

[KharmaTrain]

4. Notice: a working replica of the B-17 bomber

Not an actual WWII Vintage B-17. Good to hear no one was injured. Hopefully its insured and either will be repaired or replaced...it serves a very worthy purpose.

[catabryna]

6. I wondered why the wings had an odd burning pattern...

thanks!

[Brother Buzz]

8. The plane was manufactured in 1945

While the plane was never in combat, it was the real deal

[Rhiannon12866]

9. OMG... How terribly sad.

But the pilot was a real hero, just like those who flew in WWII. I recently saw the film about the original plane's last mission, very well done and extremely suspenseful, even though it was a true story... ;(


Some pix from the news story:

[Kurmudgeon]

10. Hate to say it, but that plane is toast! Only good for parts now....

[catabryna]

11. Photos don't look right..

Photo 2 doesn't look like a green field.

[Rhiannon12866]

12. You're right. I hadn't noticed that...

But those taken from above are all like that. Something to do with the light? :shrug:

[catabryna]

14. I also find it interesting that there isn't more

gouging into the soil with something this heavy sliding along the ground. I'd have to see a wider-angle picture from the air. It might have been overcast, when the overhead shot was taken which could explain the lack of color on the ground, or it could be a lousy camera. For me, the picture prompts more questions. My job experiences naturally lead me to question these sorts if things.

[Rhiannon12866]

20. Well, I got the pix I posted straight from the photo gallery on the article and there are more.

I just tried to post a few different ones of the plane. I think you're right and, of course, the photographer was only focused on taking pix of the plane and wasn't so concerned about the surroundings. I should ask my mother, who's a photographer... :( :hi:

[Brother Buzz]

21. It landed on it's wheels. You can plainly see the tire tracks in the second photos

[Rhiannon12866]

25. You're right!

You can see the tracks in this one, too...

[bob4460]

13. It is a freshley planted field

with small plants and the photo was taken from above.
So from that prospective you are seeing more of the ground

[catabryna]

15. I just looked on the FAA and NTSB websites for the report...

and this crash isn't listed. Doesn't mean it didn't happen but, again, I still have questions.

[Blue_Tires]

23. A report isn't always available this early

And the NTSB doesn't investigate every single incident, iirc...

[catabryna]

24. I'll wait a couple of days and check again...

there is usually something in one of the databases pretty quickly, even if it's just an initial incident report. Then again, my experience is about 6 years old. Lots can happen in 6 years.

I'll have to check the tail number.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

16. Planting has started late around here.

[catabryna]

18. This is supposed to be a muddy field

according to the article. Trying to figure out why the fire truck hasn't sunk into the mud, why the plane isn't covered with mud, why there isn't much of a gouge in the mud. When the fields were planted really doesn't answer the questions I have.

[ileus]

17. Why don't people want to believe this is real?

It was on NBC news a couple of nights ago... sheese.

[montanto]

19. lol. Its true. every event is a conspiracy, every non-event is

also a conspiracy. People are funny that way.

[StevesRedLens]

22. Salute to the B-17 'Liberty Belle'

I love the B-17. I hope they can rebuild it too. :(

[MadHound]

26. Antique vehicles of any sort are dicey to operate decades later,

Antique cars, you can get into a major crash. Antique planes, you can fall out of the sky.

It is the risk you take.