A B-17 bomber dating to World War II apparently made an emergency landing today in a cornfield outside Chicago before it was consumed by fire while the seven people aboard escaped uninjured, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. (AP)
Jim Barry, who lives in a nearby subdivision, told the Chicago Tribune he heard a low-flying plane and looked to see it. The engine on the bomber’s left wing was on fire, he said. “Not a lot of flames, just more smoke than flames,” Barry said.
Smoke billows from a World War II-era B-17 bomber after it burned following an emergency landing in a farm field in Oswego, Ill., Monday, June 13, 2011.
Oswego Fire Protection District and other area fire departments extinguish flames in the wreckage of a World War II-era B-17 bomber after it burned following an emergency landing in a farm field in Oswego, Ill., Monday, June 13, 2011.Brian Powers AP Photo/The Beacon-News
“He attempted to make a return to the airport, but couldn’t make it so he put it down in a corn field,” Kunkel told the Chicago Sun-Times.
Associated Press
A Sugar Grove, Ill., firefighter sprays down the wreckage of a World War II-era B-17 bomber after it burned following an emergency landing in a farm field in Oswego, Ill., Monday, June 13, 2011.Rick West AP/Daily herald
The “Liberty Belle,” built in 1944, visited Spokane in 2009 and 2010. The aircraft is registered to the Liberty Foundation in Miami.
The Spokesman-Review
Pat Hough, left, and Tom Carroll, who are both retired, sit on a bench and watch the activity around the “Liberty Belle”, a WWII B-17 Flying Fortress Monday, April 26, 2010 at Felts Field.Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review Buy this photoThe Liberty Belle, a B-17 Flying Fortress from the WWII-era, visited Felts Field in Spokane May 2, 2010.Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-ReviewThe Liberty Belle, a B-17 Flying Fortress from the WWII-era, visited Felts Field in Spokane May 2, 2010.Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review Buy this photoThe Liberty Belle, a B-17 Flying Fortress from the WWII era, lifts off on a media flight Monday, April 26, 2010. It was visiting Felts Field in Spokane the week of May 2, 2010 and offering rides on the weekend to paying customers.Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-ReviewThe Liberty Belle, a B-17 Flying Fortress from the WWII era, visited Felts Field in Spokane the week of May 2, 2010 and offering rides to paying customers. The bomber crashed and burned near Chicago , Ill ;June 13, 2011.
