B17 Nine-O-Nine crash in CT - 2019-10-02

[85CUCVtom]

https://www.wfsb.com/news/b-crash-l...cle_d514bd24-e51d-11e9-b6ac-47e02ec67428.html

https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news...561969581.html?_osource=SocialFlowTwt_CTBrand


Not a good day in the warbird world. The news is reporting that something happened on landing and the aircraft hit a deicing building. Radio traffic and news reports are saying that 3-4 people were transported to area hospitals. Some of this is based on radio traffic and is not 100% confirmed.

Nine-O-Nine is owned by the Collings Foundation and was in town for a stop on the Wings of Freedom Tour along with a B-24 and a couple fighters.

 

[Flyingvan911]

I heard 6 in the hospital with one being flown by helo. Prayers said for their speedy recovery. I got to ride in 909 about 12 years ago. It was an amazing experience.

 

[85CUCVtom]

I never had the opportunity to see Nine-O-Nine but I did get to fly in Madras Maiden before she was turned into Ye Olde Pub.





News conference is on now, I'll see if I can post an update soon. Meanwhile here is a scree grab from a video on CT news. That NBC Connecticut link in the first post has the news conference.

 

[fsearls92]

Dang, sad to hear. I got to see 909 in Daytona Beach a few years ago.

 

[85CUCVtom]

So what I'm gathering from the news conference is that 13 people were on the B17 at the time of the crash, 3 crew and 10 passengers who paid for flights. The hospital is saying that there are varying degrees of injuries, some in the burn unit and some fatalities. No numbers were put on that but it was confirmed that it was a fatal crash.

This absolutely hurts my heart. Hopefully everyone else involved can pull through and make recoveries.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-new...flames-bradley-international-airport-n1061161

 

[USAFSS-ColdWarrior]

Let us pray for all involved in this tragedy.....


Heavenly Father,
We pray those who have perished on this aircraft when it crashed, for their families and loved ones.
We pray over those who are injured - Heal their injuries - both physical and psychological - and restore their bodies.
We pray for all of the responders and all who now have urgent tasks to perform.
We pray for the doctors and other medical professionals - focus their learned minds and guide their hands in surgeries and other care.
And we pray for the aviation and military history community who are a brotherhood and extended family to those involved,
In Jesus' name we pray.
AMEN!


[h=1][/h]

 

[USAFSS-ColdWarrior]

Fox News...

https://www.foxnews.com/us/world-wa...onal-airport-in-connecticut-injuries-reported

 

[BenRoberts]

I posted this in conversations. I didn't see this

 

[BenRoberts]

Pics from my local airport a few years ago

 

[85CUCVtom]

Updated story.

https://www.courant.com/breaking-ne...0191002-jfkph65krrfhxlrlb3eehksdiu-story.html


Unfortunately looks like 7 fatalities as of now. A Connecticut Air National Guard airman was involved and survived and according to reports other National Guard personnel aided after the crash. Keep these families in your thoughts and prayers.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[marchplumber]

We have a member here who is closely related to Her..........he's ok, thank the Lord! I met him and toured the aircraft of the "Wings of Freedom" tour last year at the Peoria International airport, a truly fabulous day!! Now?...................this really breaks my heart!! Will be praying for ALL involved, crews, ground personnel, victims and families and many more!! Horrible incident!!

 

[TacMac2012]

I have flown on this plane, even helped change the tires on it. Won't say I know the pilot well, but he was an ornery old guy that had a good heart. He had more hours flying a B-17 than anyone on the planet, probably more than anyone EVER if I had to guess.

I know the pilot and co-pilot passed, the third crew member made it, but I don't know if he was injured or not. I hated to hear about the crash this morning. I have had my whole family on a flight in that plane, it's just hard to imagine what all those families are going through.

I can say if you would have told the pilot he was going to die in a b-17 crash one day, he would have probably kept on flying it anyways.

 

[85CUCVtom]

We have a member here who is closely related to Her..........he's ok, thank the Lord! I met him and toured the aircraft of the "Wings of Freedom" tour last year at the Peoria International airport, a truly fabulous day!! Now?...................this really breaks my heart!! Will be praying for ALL involved, crews, ground personnel, victims and families and many more!! Horrible incident!!

I shoot photos for a local newspaper and my warbird addiction started a few years back when I did a video and photo gallery when Madras Maiden came through Cleveland on a tour. I make it a point to go see warbirds every time they come through my area and get their cause into the media.

I've been heart broken over this all day. Not only for the aircraft, as it is a huge loss to the community but I'm heart broken for the families involved. The people involved in this horrible accident are just like us- veterans, historians, enthusiasts, first responders or maybe a father and son making some memories together on a plane ride. Just keeping my fingers crossed the survivors pull through.

I have flown on this plane, even helped change the tires on it. Won't say I know the pilot well, but he was an ornery old guy that had a good heart. He had more hours flying a B-17 than anyone on the planet, probably more than anyone EVER if I had to guess.
I know the pilot and co-pilot passed, the third crew member made it, but I don't know if he was injured or not. I hated to hear about the crash this morning. I have had my whole family on a flight in that plane, it's just hard to imagine what all those families are going through.
I can say if you would have told the pilot he was going to die in a b-17 crash one day, he would have probably kept on flying it anyways.

Oh wow. I was wondering if there was a Steel Soldiers connection at all. It's really hard to imagine what they are going through. Like I said above, I praying the rest of the survivors pull through.

 

[CARNAC]

Absolutely horrible news. Prayers to the families and victims.

 

[Berto]

Prayers to all the families involved. Simply heartbreaking.

 

[USAFSS-ColdWarrior]

Our local online news posted an interesting article today. The San Angelo LIVE's publisher was a B-52 crewman and writes very good aviation stories.

Here's a link to that story.

https://sanangelolive.com//news/san...il&utm_term=0_e509ef1720-b6940b070b-319951273


Joe references and links the FlightAware record of the B-17's final flight tracking. Here is that link if you want to skip the article.

https://flightaware.com/live/flight...il&utm_term=0_e509ef1720-b6940b070b-319951273


The article above also provides several other related links. It's worth the read.

 

[818 Test Pilot]

Pilot had a reported 7000+ hours in this ship. If he couldn't save it nobody could.

 

[USAFSS-ColdWarrior]

A companion thread to this one has been created in the Chaplains Corner of these SS Forums.

https://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?191209-Nine-0-nine-RIP

Please feel free to post in that thread any prayers, words of encouragement for families and friends of those who perished and those injured in the crash of this historic aircraft, and personal remembrances of this B-17, her crew, and their exploits.

Thank you.

John
SS Chaplain

 

[marchplumber]

For those that might have missed.....=-(

 

[85CUCVtom]

Sorry for the gap in updating, I was traveling and doing a few photo jobs and time got away from me but I did want to share a couple articles from the Hartford Courant.

First off, the Nine-o-Nine's flight engineer/mechanic was released from the hospital today! This is great news and as he is one of us, I'm sure everyone here will keep him in their thoughts and prayers. Since the links have a pay wall, I'll leave the link but also post the text of the article with credit to the original source.

https://www.courant.com/breaking-ne...0191009-lapaprst4fb5tmga2thspnrjd4-story.html

"Collings Foundation mechanic injured in deadly Bradley International Airport B-17 crash released from hospital"

By Nicholas Rondinone, Hartford Courant, OCT 09, 2019, 11:49AM

Mitchell Melton, a Collings Foundation mechanic from Texas injured in the deadly B-17 bomber crash last week at Bradley International Airport was released Tuesday from the hospital, according to a fundraising Facebook page started by family.

“Mitchell was released to go home today, lab results came back perfect and tests were normal,” read a 4 p.m. post Tuesday on the #FIGHTLIKEMITCH fundraiser page. Melton worked for the foundation that owned and operated the 75-year-old Boeing B-17. The plane’s pilot, co-pilot and five passengers were killed. Melton was among six people on board who were injured in the crash. A man working at the airport was also injured as he tried to help after the plane caught fire.

Three others in the crash, Linda Schmidt and Tom Schmidt, both 62, and Joseph Huber, 48, remain hospitalized at the Connecticut Burn Center at Bridgeport Hospital, where officials said they are in fair condition. A hospital spokesman said Tuesday they are all “doing well.”

Melton, 34, of Dalhart, Texas, was the only member of the crew to survive the crash and could provide key information to investigators working to determine what caused the fiery crash. His family started the fundraiser hours after the crash to update people on his condition. It has collected more than $19,000 by early Wednesday.

The pilot, Ernest “Mac” McCauley, 75, of California, and co-pilot, Michael Foster, 71, of Florida, were both killed in the crash, authorities said. Investigators said both had extensive flight time. McCauley was with the Collings Foundation for 20 years and served as safety officer. With his 7,300 flight hours in the B-17, investigators say he may be the most experienced pilot in the nation capable of flying those World War II-era planes.

Ten passengers who paid the foundation $450 donations for a brief flight Wednesday morning out of Bradley International Airport were on-board when the plane crashed -- five were injured and five were killed.

The plane took off from the airport’s runway 6 about 9:45 a.m. and radioed in to air traffic control within minutes saying they were experiencing engine problems, investigators said. When it attempted to return to runway 6, investigators said it hit approach lights about 1,000 feet from the end of the runway, before crashing through a grassy area, then onto the taxiway and into an airport de-icing facility about 9:53 a.m. The plane burst into heavy flames brought on by the aviation fuel aboard, authorities said. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board are looking into reports that the plane had engine problems before it took off.

Investigators have yet to say what caused the crash. The NTSB could release a preliminary report on its findings sometime this week, but it could be 12 to 18 months before they issue a final report with a determination on what brought the plane down.

The crash led to questions about oversight of these vintage airplanes. U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, whose senate committee oversees both the NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration, questioned what type of maintenance and inspection protocols vintage warplane operators must follow to continue to fly.

Collings Foundation was allowed to charge passengers to fly in the B-17 and nine other warplanes under an exemption to FAA regulations allowing for “living history” flights. Collings Foundation, which has suspended flight operations for the year, has said little since the accident, releasing one brief statement that read: “Our thoughts and prayers are with those who were on that flight and we will be forever grateful to the heroic efforts of the first responders at Bradley."


I found a Facebook fundraiser that was set-up by his family to aid in his medical expenses, I'll post a link but if this is not allowed, Admins please remove or let me know and I'll edit my post. I am in no way involved with this fundraiser, I'm simply passing the information along to like minded people.

https://www.facebook.com/donate/772931286494235/10158367614599714/