Just a "nutshell" distillation of the information currently available:

"On another subject, some bad news. This morning, around 1000 hr. lcl, the Collings Foundation B-17 crashed at Bradley Field Connecticut. I googoled "B-17 crash Connecticut" and got the bad news. It was a Collings Foundation B-17 with three crew and ten PAX on board, and there are reported fatalities as a result of the crash at BDL. An aerial photo shows the remains of the plane up against a ground storage tank (reportedly a de-icing facility) just outside of a hangar. Almost the entire fuselage appears to have been consumed by fire. Reportedly, the airplane encountered difficulties soon after takeoff and was trying to return to Bradley. What a shame."

Prayers for all involved.

Grog

Here's an excerpt of the LiveATC clip with the conversation and the post-accident approach cancellations. Number 4 engine (not number 3 as an eyewitness earlier reported) is indeed mentioned in the B-17 transmissions.

[,First, thanks to those who posted ATC links.

Great respect for the approach controller with 4 or 5 jet inbounds and a joyriding 'Stang all over the air. Solid, respectable job, though I can see why some EU pilots have fits over the informal tone sometimes used.

Finally, having enjoyed rides on comparable aircraft (17, 24, 25, 29, and others) I hope the NIMBY crowd which appeared after the Trimotor [type] crash in Switzerland, (many of whom I doubt could tell a cylinder from a frying pan) do not rise in opposition to the continuation of these incomparable displays of living history. Hard to describe why I need to blink repeatedly when I see those actual crew members from the 40s, gazing at or touching the aircraft which formed such a pivotal part of their lives.

So true. I wonder if that Mustang was also a part of the Collingsby Foundation group due to be there. From the Courant: "Two World War II fighter planes and three bombers will be at Bradley International Airport through Thursday.

The historic aircraft, owned by the Collings Foundation of Stow, Mass., will be open for tours through Thursday at Tac Air, 85-205 Combs Gate Drive, just off Route 75 in Windsor Locks. Flights aboard the aircraft are also available.

The aircraft are a B-17G Flying Fortress heavy bomber, a B-24J Liberator heavy bomber, a B-25 Mitchell medium bomber, a P-51 Mustang fighter and a P-40 Warhawk fighter."

Full article here: https://www.courant.com/news/connect...ygu-story.html

Perhaps. It's impossible to tell for sure, of course, but that isn't the point.
I was trained as a U.S. Navy Fighter Pilot and very early on I was told that when things so South, declare an emergency, stop asking permission, and start telling the controllers what you intend to do. You don't ask for permission to land, you TELL them you're landing. And you don't ask for a runway which will make their job easy, you TELL them what runway you are going to use and you start heading that direction without waiting for someone to say it's OK. You certainly should NOT ask them to accommodate your emergency "when you get a chance", especially if they aren't even aware you are involved in a potentially fatal emergency. In this case, the controller might have thought one of the passengers had to go to the bathroom or something, or that someone left their luggage behind. Why rush?

Let the tower worry about sorting out any traffic problems. Let them apologize for making things inconvenient for others. You job is to take care of your crippled aircraft and that's all you should be worried about. Saving seconds or minutes can make all the difference.

Even if you're not bold enough to take charge, at least tell the tower that you're having an emergency. Generally speaking, once the ground guys know you're in trouble, they will pull out all the stops to help you resolve the problem quickly and safely. But if they are unaware, how can they help?

My son-in-law (at Collins Aerospace, off to the side of the end of 06) says one of his co-workers was on the apron earlier in the day, and he said they were having engine problems with the B-17. I do not know if this person understands the usual handling of an R-1820, so apply sufficient salt.

Wikipedia article

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octobe...Fortress_crash

Plus one on the sad day.
I flew on that aircraft about ten years ago when it was in Everett - it was a priceless experience.
Finfly1, agree on the hope this doesn't stop or seriously discourage this sort of activity. When I took my joyride on Nine-O-Nine, I keep thinking what a shame it was that my WW II veteran dad wasn't alive to come along - he would have absolutely loved it. He wasn't a pilot, but he was quite familiar with the B-17 - when I was a kid we'd watch the TV series 'Twelve O'clock High' (based on the movie of the same name) and he was always talking about what a great aircraft the B-17 was.
On my ride, there was a father (roughly my age) with his teenage son. Before takeoff, his son appeared seriously bored - messing with his phone. But five minutes into the flight the kid was completely enthralled - started using his phone to video everything. Quite literally living history.

Let the Speculation Begin
 

Listening to the tower conversation with the B-17 (N90312CF), the pilot reported: " garbled ... number four engine. We'd like to return and blow it out". This sounds like there was a fire involved, but that should not have caused a control problem with the airplane unless the fire was well advanced. As to my speculation, well here goes. There may have been a massive oil leak in the No.4 engine resulting in rapid loss of engine oil pressure and ability to feather the propeller. The leaking oil may have caught fire. Inability to feather an outboard engine (in this case, no.4) would cause serious control problems. End of speculation.

Nine-O-Nine was a beautiful airplane, and its loss was a disaster. The loss of lives aboard was a tragedy. God bless.

Grog

My younger brother bucked rivets inside of that aircraft repairing damage that occurred after it went off the end of the runway at Beaver County Airport in 1987. Sad loss of life today. :(

Latest from Hartford Courant is 7 dead, 7 injured. A few years back a friend, Navy WWII veteran, UDT, had the opportunity to ride in a B-17, not sure if it was this one. He was so proud of having the opportunity. Hope this incident doesn't stop having these opportunities for veterans and the children, grandchildren of these veterans. Even though Jerry was a diver, the B-17 flight was something he talked about right to his last days.

God Bless All Involved
 

Here's another edit (not mine) from LiveATC.net including the tower and approach clips in the posts above along with the ground control conversation. This link will play on a phone or tablet. The .zip files I posted above seem to only work on a computer, .mp3 is not a valid extension for a PPRuNE attachment.

https://forums.liveatc.net/index.php...0;attach=10529

Mindful of all the psychology, I think, 'We're going in the Hudson' was perhaps one of the most memorable lines ever transmitted, not least of all because it left the ATC guy in one of those bewildered states that was not helping anybody.

cpngrog.
The blowing out statement suggests to me that they may have had fouled plugs on the engine.
That would also explain why they didn't declare an emergency.

On the Connie for one example, fouled/non firing plugs are an engine shutdown condition.
Wunwing

A B-17 can fly just fine on three engines (and even with 13 people, they would not have been 'heavy' since there are no guns or bombs), so clearly there must be more to it than a simple engine failure.
I briefly talked with the pilots when I took my ride - they were unpaid volunteers - commercial airline pilots that flew the Collings aircraft just for the joy of it.
So sad...