Jump to content

B-17 Crashed and burned at Hartford, 2 dead, :(

fantom

By fantom
in Miscellaneous Aviation Talk

 Share

Recommended Posts

fantom Grand Master

fantom

Posted
Posted

Oct 2 (Reuters) - A World War Two vintage airplane crashed at Bradley International Airport near Hartford, Connecticut, on Wednesday, and a local report said at least two people were killed and more were seriously injured.

Rescue crews raced to the fiery scene, the airport said, with local media showing video of a plume of thick, black smoke billowing skywards after the crash.

"We can confirm that there was an accident involving a Collings Foundation World War II aircraft this morning at Bradley Airport," a post on the airport's Facebook page said on Wednesday.

The crash of the B-17 bomber, which occurred shortly before 10 a.m. local time as the plane was attempting to land at the airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, killed at least two people and sent at least three others to a local hospital, the Hartford Courant newspaper reported.

The airport said it was shut amid a 'fire and rescue operation.'

 
  • Sad 1
Air pirate Collaborator

Air pirate

Posted
Posted

Terrible news, I flew on that aircraft when she was painted as "Nine o Nine". The Collings Foundation has always been meticulous concerning their aircraft. Prayers for the souls that have gone west and a full recovery for the injured.  

  • Like 1
tigers2007 Mentor

tigers2007

Posted
Posted

How does the legal end work with carrying 9 or more pax? Is this a part 91 operation? I wonder how those hold-harmless forms will play here.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted

Inability to climb after take off sounds like it might have gotten Jet A fuel.

Clarence

tigers2007 Mentor

tigers2007

Posted
Posted
Inability to climb after take off sounds like it might have gotten Jet A fuel.
Clarence


If we gripe about insurance rates I wonder how much FBO’s gripe about liability rates too. There is a lot of responsibility put into the hands of a $8-15/hr line handler that wrangles the fuel. Many moons ago when I slammed baggage at Mesaba, we would have to give the Saab crew the bag count. Some of the goofballs I worked with would make it up as they lost count like five times during loading. The first thing I thought was, “What a sh*t show”. Mesaba’s $7.50/hr sure went far with the rampers.
I have a little more faith with line crew that are also pilots. At least they can tell the difference between 100LL and Jet A.
Anyone here know the intricacies of a B-17’s fuel system (tanks, valves, etc.)?



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
  • Like 1
EricJ Grand Master

EricJ

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, M20Doc said:

Inability to climb after take off sounds like it might have gotten Jet A fuel.

Clarence

One of the witness reports included a smoking and sputtering engine, for whatever that's worth at this point.   I thought those guys operated enough below gross that a single engine out wouldn't be too difficult, but maybe there were other issues.

Tragic in any case, all around.

 

N201MKTurbo Grand Master

N201MKTurbo

Posted
Posted

It seems strange that they had a landing accident after making it back to the airport. Maybe they had other system failures? In the old movies they didn’t do well with only one gear down.

Air pirate Collaborator

Air pirate

Posted
Posted (edited)

DaNang Dick Blumenthal is already spouting off how vintage aircraft should NOT  be flown and "we have to regulate more".

Edited by Air pirate
  • Sad 1
MooneyMitch Grand Master

MooneyMitch

Posted
Posted
21 minutes ago, Air pirate said:

DaNang Dick Blumenthal is already spouting off how vintage aircraft should NOT  be flown and "we have to regulate more".

Pathetic!  “The sky is falling”

jaylw314 Grand Master

jaylw314

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, tigers2007 said:

How does the legal end work with carrying 9 or more pax? Is this a part 91 operation? I wonder how those hold-harmless forms will play here.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

They operate under rules for conducting a "Living History Flight Experience".  They have requirements that are sorta-kinda-maybe more like part 135 operations than before since the LHFE rules changes about a decade ago

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2015/07/21/2015-17966/policy-regarding-living-history-flight-experience-exemptions-for-passenger-carrying-operations

jaylw314 Grand Master

jaylw314

Posted
Posted
4 minutes ago, RogueOne said:

How long does it take for a burning engine to reach fuel lines and control inputs?

I expect the answer should be "never", given that B-17's were designed to be shot at, right? :unsure: I can't imagine there are not robust systems and procedures for stopping the spread of an engine fire on one of those things...

HIghpockets Collaborator

HIghpockets

Posted
Posted

I had the opportunity to walk through a B-17 that belonged to the Confederate AirForce when they were at Trenton-Mercer (TTN) in NJ years ago. Basically it was an aluminum shell with a catwalk for crew to move along. Not a pressurized aircraft so left and right waist gunner positions were open windows. My overall impression was that there really was no protection other than the helmets and/or Flak jackets that the crew wore or sat on. I doubt there was any special effort to protect the control systems.  The idea was to carry maximum payload ie bombs to target.

My brother used to fly an Interstate L6 for one of these organizations. He decided to step away from this hobby lt was his opinion that the aircraft were flown until they crashed. It raises an interesting question: Is it better to keep all of these airplanes flying until extinction or at some  point is it best to preserve them by putting them on static display?  

RogueOne Experienced

RogueOne

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, jaylw314 said:

I expect the answer should be "never", given that B-17's were designed to be shot at, right? :unsure: I can't imagine there are not robust systems and procedures for stopping the spread of an engine fire on one of those things...

lol. Not worth it. I am out. 

RogueOne Experienced

RogueOne

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, HIghpockets said:

I had the opportunity to walk through a B-17 that belonged to the Confederate AirForce when they were at Trenton-Mercer (TTN) in NJ years ago. Basically it was an aluminum shell with a catwalk for crew to move along. Not a pressurized aircraft so left and right waist gunner positions were open windows. My overall impression was that there really was no protection other than the helmets and/or Flak jackets that the crew wore or sat on. I doubt there was any special effort to protect the control systems.  The idea was to carry maximum payload ie bombs to target.

My brother used to fly an Interstate L6 for one of these organizations. He decided to step away from this hobby lt was his opinion that the aircraft were flown until they crashed. It raises an interesting question: Is it better to keep all of these airplanes flying until extinction or at some  point is it best to preserve them by putting them on static display?  

Keep ‘em flying!

  • Like 5
tigers2007 Mentor

tigers2007

Posted
Posted

I just saw Blancolirio's (YouTube) opinions and comments regarding the crash. He did cover the stringent requirements they fall under to carry people around (training manuals, maintenance manuals,etc.). He also made it clear that many of these have been rebuilt from the ground-up. I would describe it as flying in an "old rebuilt experimental aircraft that had zero intent of transporting passengers" category. I flew in the Yankee Air Force's C-47 and B-25 with my dad and grandfather (WW2 pilot) when I was a child and I would do it again today if the opportunity came up. I probably skirt death more often by flying my vintage M20D.

  • Like 2
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.