Lost a B-17 Today near my home

[Jim W]

I do not know if you guys follow the old war birds, but I do. I am sorry to report that the Liberty Belle crashed landed in a farm field less than a 1 mile from my home. I was out fueling my truck at 10:00 Am and saw it go over head. Looked up again and the plane that was following the B-17 was all alone. I then saw smoke curling up into the sky. I drove home and the smoke was still there. Fire trucks and police cars go tearing by as I drive home. Some turn into my subdivision others went down RT71 to the crash site.

Need less to say I was worried that some homes might have been on fire.

Than I find out that the B-17 crashed.

Here is the news article on it.

Jim W.



World War II plane burns after emergency landing near Oswego - Beacon News

 

[AH64ID]

That's a shame, those old war birds are awesome!

 

[BILLUA]

That brings tears to my eyes :{:{:{

 

[BGlidewell]

those are an awesome sight to see flying. Sorry to read this.

 

[JDiehl]

Looked like the pilots did make a good level landing. Glad no one was injured.



Was there any Aircraft Rescue Firefighting capabilities at the airport?

 

[bheiting]

It's always a shame to lose a classic prop driven plane. I've wanted to fly in one when the Confederate Air Force comes to town, but you have to wonder how safe they are after numerous rebuilds. My wife's nephew was killed a while back when the pilot's classic 1950s twin engine blew an engine on take off. No one survived. They were all engineers at Tesla motors. Nice to hear that all are safe this time.

 

[Newt]

Saw it on TV. Not much left.

Newt

 

[WCPoe]

That's too bad. A friend sent me a link which show the plane burning. It's ironic we had gone up tp the Cherokee County Airport, in Canton Georgia on Dec. 30, 2011. They had the plane undergoing maintenance, replacing the fuel cells. We got lucky and were able to give it a close inspection. Just glad no one got hurt.



WWII-Era B-17 “Liberty Belle” Crashes (Video) | Home Post

 

[WCPoe]

Here's a couple more:

 

[SHobbs]

Brought tears to my eyes as well, this was one on my list to catch a ride in. I really hate to see it happen being there are so few still airworthy. There is so much work involved in restoration and preservation of these planes. I have had flights with Thunderbird out of Galveston and Texas Raiders out of Houston and both were worth every penny. I am hooked on flying in these planes. Every time I catch a ride in one I get to experience a small part of what my grandfather and his crew went through over the skies of Germany. I hope to catch a ride on Nine O Nines sometime in September or October.

 

[dieselpowered]

Thats sad, It was in my town in april. Santa Rosa CA

 

[Tractorat]

What a terrible loss this was. That particular plane has been into Seattle several times over the years.

 

[Gonzo 1066]

Sad deal, these aircraft helped win the war. They made our country what it is, gave us the freedoms that we all enjoy... . Sad Deal...

 

[Jim W]

Looked like the pilots did make a good level landing. Glad no one was injured.



Was there any Aircraft Rescue Firefighting capabilities at the airport?

No, the Oswego and Sugar Grove fire departments that respond do not have this type of equipment.

The airport from were the plane departed is located on the edge of Sugar Grove, but the airport is supported by Aurora IL. The actual title is the "Aurora Municipal Airport "

Jim W.

 

[SHobbs]

My last flight was just last month in Corsicana TX, Texas Raiders B-17 was there for an airshow. We were all waiting to load up for the flight and a question was asked that made me laugh. A woman looked at me and asked if I was nervous about the flight, I said no why, she said this plane is 64 years old. I told her I would rather fly in this old plane than a modern jet. Once you get airborn and you can walk around and look out the windows and see and feel how graceful they are you will be hooked. For her and a few others it was their first flight and from what they said it won't be their last, they enjoyed every minute of it.

We had an honored guest that day on the flight, a WWII veteran that trained as a radio operator/ gunner on B-17's. He sat in the radio operators chair during the flight with a huge smile on his face. Was great talking with him and flying with him, he received alot of attention that day.

With operational cost as high as $4000 per hour to fly these planes a seat for a flight is not cheap but well worth it.

 

[Tractorat]

I was having coffee and reading the newspaper at Mcdonalds this morning. Was talking with a couple of old guys. One of them had been a ball turret gunner on a B-17. He had some pretty interesting stories.

 

[SHobbs]

No way in the world I would want to be in the ball.