B-17 "Liberty Belle" destroyed

[TBM-Legend]

"Liberty Belle" flew the Atlantic a couple of years ago and toured UK. Don Brooks and his team are fine fellows.

Now all is lost after engine fire followed by forced landing and fire. All crew are safe is the good news.

Photos: WWII B-17 bomber crashes outside Chicago | Denver Post Media Center (http://photos.denverpost.com/mediacenter/2011/06/photos-wwii-b-17-bomber-crashes-outside-chicago/#name%20here)

[November4]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/photo/2011-06/62347008.jpg

Loss of another flying memorial - more importantly though, everyone got out safe and no one else has been added to the list of men killed whilst flying on B-17s

[Buster Hyman]

Part of the risk of keeping history "living" I suppose. :(

I second Nov 4's sentiments, glad all escaped.

[fallmonk]

So sad another piece off history is gone.
Only glad the Crew got out safe. And maybe any salvageable parts can maybe put another B-17 in the air !

[Tankertrashnav]

Great effort getting that big heavy aircraft down on its wheels on what appears to be pretty soft ground, and in such a state to permit a rapid crew abandonment :ok:

[Runaway Gun]

Other photos suggest a successful and otherwise noneventful forced landing :ok:

[bobward]

Wasn't this the aircraft rebuilt by Tom Reilly at Kissimmee, and survived the hurricane there about ten years ago?

[TBM-Legend]

Indeed.

Don Brooks, the owner, has another B-17 'project' fished out of a river in Canada.

Hopefully the old team will see her take to the skies in a few years...

[Front Pit]

That's a very sad sight and I'm pleased all on board survived to fly another day. I have wonderful memories of the pleasure of seeing Liberty Belle put on a fabulous display with another B-17 The Pink Lady at the Flying Legends show at Duxford in 2008 whilst poor Sally B was grounded.

[rolandpull]

Looks like the port inner 'let go'. The other props look like a wheels down landing was achieved. Must have been gutting to stand and watch it burn. Shame.

[NutLoose]

She was on fire in the air, crew were looking for source of smoke smell, AT-6 I believe informed them the lower wing was on fire... pics can be seen here showing her landing and burning and also two of her in flight on fire..

Images: World War II B-17 crash in Oswego - DailyHerald.com (http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20110613/news/706139915/photos/)

this shows her after she had just rolled to a halt and they got out

WWII bomber that made fiery landing in Aurora cornfield had maintenance over weekend - chicagotribune.com (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chibrknews-crews-responding-to-incident-involving-wwii-bomber-20110613,0,5852034.story)

more

Tribune Photos of the Day -- June 13, 2011 -- chicagotribune.com (http://www.chicagotribune.com/videobeta/?watchLive=wgntv-tivid-livestream-96)



Not a good week or so with the NZ Spit going over on its nose.... 3rd time in as many years......

The fire and resulting belly landing of the B-25 near Paris

Pics of B-25 lying in field very worse for wear... VERY LUCKY...

Book Foto - - () (http://gsirius.bookfoto.com/index.php?ac=book&gr=0&id=136064)

The wheels up DC6 due to finger trouble and at least in all of the above everyone got out.

and then sadly the Goodyear blimp where the pilot tragically lost his life saving that of the passengers. :sad:

[TorqueOfTheDevil]

Very sad. How many airworthy B-17s are there left now?

In the pics, the nose position looks dented rather than smashed - not what I'd expect from glass! Did they have an alternative style of nose on it?

[diginagain]

Possibly because it isn't made of glass?

[Always a Sapper]

At the end of the day it's only a large historical pile of bits, the main thing is the crew and passengers getting out in one piece.

Nice landing by the pilot on the plowed field though, was it a crosswind landing or was he lucky in the wind direction as he's got it in line with the furrows? And noting the wheel tracks, the turn to port at the end, an attempt to put the fire down wind of the hatch and aid escape?

[BillieBob]

.....was he lucky in the wind direction as he's got it in line with the furrows?What furrows:confused: Also note that the Chicago Tribune thinks that the B-17 is a "WWII fighter plane", and I thought British journalists were cr@p!

[500N]

"What furrows"

The furrows of the ploughed corn fields.

Have a look at the pictures 10, 12 (and 19 on this link - with 19 showing how boggy it is with the 8 wheel tractor).

"Liberty Belle" B-17 makes fiery emergency landing in cornfield - chicagotribune.com (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-110613-b17-plane-crash-pictures,0,3672607.photogallery)

.

[DownIn3Green]

Anyone know the details (Really Know) ???

Only 13 flying ones left now...

[Old Photo.Fanatic]

Suggest you check the thread in Military Aircrew!!!!!!

OPF

[DownIn3Green]

thanks...looked everywhere (I thought) but hadn't looked there....

[lilflyboy262]

Theres one in the DG & P forums somewhere as well.
Didnt look that hard! :}

[A2QFI]

Spitfire takes a nose dive - National - NZ Herald News (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10731880)

[NutLoose]

Nose is perspex and the heat had distorted it.


TRAGIC

Home | Liberty Belle B-17 Flying Fortress (http://www.libertyfoundation.org/index.html)

http://www.libertyfoundation.org/libertybelle20110613_600.jpg

As all pilots know, there are few emergency situations that are more critical than having an in-flight fire. While an in-flight fire is extremely rare, it can (and sometimes does) indiscriminately affect aircraft of any age or type. In-flight fires have led to the loss of not only aircraft, but often can result in catastrophic loss of life. It requires an immediate action on the flight crew, as the integrity of aircraft structure, systems and critical components are in question.

Directly below the B-17 was a farmer’s field and the decision was made to land immediately. Approximately 1 minute and 40 seconds from the radio report of the fire, the B-17 was down safely on the field. Within that 1:40 time frame, the crew shutdown and feathered the number 2 engine, activated the engine’s fire suppression system, lowered the landing gear and performed an on-speed landing. Bringing the B-17 to a quick stop, the crew and passengers quickly and safely exited the aircraft. Overhead in the T-6, Cullen professionally coordinated and directed the firefighting equipment which was dispatched by Aurora Tower to the landing location.

Unlike the sensational photos that you have all seen of the completely burned B-17 on the news, you will see from photos taken by our crew that our Liberty Belle was undamaged by the forced landing and at the time of landing, the wing fire damage was relatively small. The crew actually unloaded bags, then had the horrible task of watching the aircraft slowly burn while waiting for the fire trucks to arrive. There were high hopes that the fire would be extinguished quickly and the damage would be repairable. Those hopes were diminished as the fire trucks deemed the field too soft to cross due to the area’s recent rainfall. So while standing by our burning B-17 and watching the fire trucks parked at the field’s edge, they sadly watched the wing fire spread to the aircraft’s fuel cells and of course, you all have seen the end result. There is no doubt that had the fire equipment been able to reach our aircraft, the fire would have been quickly extinguished and our Liberty Belle would have been repaired to continue her worthwhile mission

:sad:

[ozbiggles]

Never let the facts stand in the way of a good story.
If the person who wrote that has a look at the aerial shots they show a fire truck well and truly bogged down in the soft ground having made an attempt to get close to the aircraft.

[BillieBob]

The furrows of the ploughed corn fields. Have a look at the pictures 10, 12 (and 19 on this link Now have a look at pictures 1-9 (or the one in NutLoose's post above) and tell me how deep those 'furrows' are. There is no denying that the surface is soft but it is reasonably smooth.

[TBM-Legend]

Ray Fowler is Chief Pilot for Liberty Belle Foundation wrote that. He is an exemplary aviator and not given to emotion however from the crews perspective it may well have seemed that the fire trucks did hesitate and yes one ventured out and got bogged.

Ray by the way is an F-16 combat vet as well as an Continental/Delta Captain plus years of warbird ops. He like the owner, Don Brooks, are fine fellows.

A sad event however Don and crew will recover and use bits of Liberty Belle that they can in rebuilding his other B-17 project that was fished out of a river in Canada.:D

[jamesdevice]

look at it from the fire brigades point of view

an old aircraft which probably wasn't going to be salvageable, just taken off and stuffed full of high-octane fuel, landed on valuable farmland.
all the passengers were out, so no risk to life - except the risk to the fire team

they're faced with a dilemma
It didn't look like they had enough pumps to put it out, but IF they had been able to do so, then the fuel would have leaked into the ground, contaminating the farmland and any water courses. The contaminated soil would have to go as hazardous waste - not a cheap option
access was a problem - an all wheel drive airport tender would probably get there, but the local municipal fire trucks would probably get bogged in or break their transmissions trying. Not an option as they're needed for the next fire to happen

I've been present at similar conundrums in the past (with chemical plant) where the decision - on environmental grounds - was to let the plant burn out


Addendum
I should have pointed out that much fire foam counts as environmentally hazardous, so adding another layer of complexity to the decision

[mary meagher]

Hope we never have to put it into practice, but all us tug pilots at the gliding club agree that if fire, put it down, get out, and run like hell. Standing well away from anything full of avgas is strongly advised.

Field selection in this case was exemplary; that is an enormous smooth field. Always prefer a taildragger when landing in a field, as it may well be soft. Fire trucks of course are much heavier than aircraft and so more likely to get stuck.

When I was 10 years old, away back in l944, my Daddy took me to Keesler Field near Gulfport, Mississippi, on an open day and I got to explore the inside of a B17, a memory still fresh. He told hairy tales about being a reluctant passenger in the type while the young aircrew chased cows, en route to a Florida assignment. His normal duty was skipper of a small group of PT/crash boats, used to rush to the scene of Army airplanes that might need a water rescue. He also taught celestial navigation (shooting stars with a sextant through the bubble dome) to delivery pilots expecting a transatlantic passage.