# B-17 crash in Connecticut **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 2, 2019, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-17-crash-in-connecticut/841151 "2019-10-02T15:08:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-17-crash-in-connecticut/841151/1 "2019-10-02T15:08:19Z")
[Multiple injuries reported after vintage plane crashes at Bradley International Airport](https://www.courant.com/breaking-news/hc-br-windsor-locks-bradley-international-airport-plane-crash-20191002-jfkph65krrfhxlrlb3eehksdiu-story.html) > [@](#): > > A vintage plane crashed shortly before 10 a.m., bursting into flames and sending up a large plume of smoke that could be seen for miles. Sources say it crashed into a shed as it was trying to land. > > The plane is a B-17, according to the Windsor Locks Fire Department. > The airport confirmed that the plane is a Collings Foundation World War II aircraft. The aircraft was [‘Nine-O-Nine’](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine-O-Nine). ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-17-crash-in-connecticut/841151/2 "2019-10-02T15:19:46Z")
[Another link](https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/02/us/connecticut-plane-crash-trnd/index.html) Bad news. I’ve been to that airport. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-17-crash-in-connecticut/841151/3 "2019-10-02T15:27:05Z")
I saw that they were in my area a couple weeks ago and I seriously considered booking a flight on that plane. It’s a sad loss of the plane and passengers. I wonder if they’ll ever be able to figure out what caused it. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-17-crash-in-connecticut/841151/4 "2019-10-02T15:32:17Z")
Update from 1010 WINS: [At least two dead](https://1010wins.radio.com/articles/vintage-wwii-era-plane-crashes-bradley-airport). ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-17-crash-in-connecticut/841151/5 "2019-10-02T16:01:47Z")
My husband took a ride [in that plane](https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZugbhUVNghdSrz1T6) a couple years ago. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-17-crash-in-connecticut/841151/6 "2019-10-02T16:10:56Z")
I don’t think 909 is coming back again this time. A sad loss of people and plane. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-17-crash-in-connecticut/841151/7 "2019-10-02T16:13:16Z")
[CNN update](https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/world-war-ii-plane-crash-connecticut/) 2 dead, 6 hospitalized, and a historical plane is gone. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-17-crash-in-connecticut/841151/8 "2019-10-02T16:27:59Z")
This is the terrible dilemma of continuing to fly historic aircraft: the proponents say people won’t really understand these magnificent machines unless they can see, hear, feel, and even smell them in operation. The museum curators point out that there won’t be anything left to understand (or study) when (not if) they crash. And of course, this doesn’t even take into account the risk of injury and loss of life that we have seen in this unfortunate event. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-17-crash-in-connecticut/841151/9 "2019-10-02T16:39:17Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > [CNN update](https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/world-war-ii-plane-crash-connecticut/) > > 2 dead, 6 hospitalized The old planes aren’t any more reliable now than when they were new. The ones left flying can only do so because of intense maintenance, far beyond what they got in the war. Those problems can’t be fixed without losing authenticity, either. > [@](#): > > and a historical plane is gone. FTR, this wasn’t the “real” 9-0-9, but a later (non-historical, just old) plane that was repainted to look like it. Most of the surviving warbirds never made it overseas, or were built after the war. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-17-crash-in-connecticut/841151/10 "2019-10-02T16:40:34Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > [Another link](https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/02/us/connecticut-plane-crash-trnd/index.html) > > Bad news. I’ve been to that airport. Horrible news. I’ve flown on that plane. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-17-crash-in-connecticut/841151/11 "2019-10-02T16:51:53Z")
A friend just toured the plane last week in NH. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-17-crash-in-connecticut/841151/12 "2019-10-02T16:59:50Z")
Oh, man. That sucks! ☹ ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-17-crash-in-connecticut/841151/13 "2019-10-02T17:11:48Z")
Damn. I think that about a week ago I saw the very plane that crashed. It flew over my house when they were repositioning the Wings of Freedom tour from Portland, Maine, to Nashua, New Hampshire. The B-17 and the B-24 that flew over several minutes later were both a lot louder than I normally expect planes to be, which is what got me out of the house and looking up in time to see them. I considered driving over to Nashua to see them up close, but didn’t make it over there. My dad flew at least 13 missions over Europe as a tail-gunner on a B-17 toward the end of the war. ---
**Author:** ![Encinitas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Encinitas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Encinitas)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-17-crash-in-connecticut/841151/14 "2019-10-02T18:24:21Z")
My brother and I surprised our mom with a flight in Nine-O-Nine some years ago. It was the thrill of her life. Very sad. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-17-crash-in-connecticut/841151/15 "2019-10-02T19:02:32Z")
[Up to five dead now.](https://www.khou.com/article/news/nation-world/world-war-ii-era-bomber-erupts-into-flames-after-crash-at-connecticut-bradley-airport/285-8fef55b2-4573-4a0e-81af-822fa3120467) Plane evidently failed to gain altitude after take off and attempted to return to the airport to land. Multiple severely burned victims. 10 passengers, 3 crew on board. A witness claimed to see the #3 engine fail. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-17-crash-in-connecticut/841151/16 "2019-10-02T19:31:35Z")
The “maintenance shed” they hit was a de-icing facility. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-17-crash-in-connecticut/841151/17 "2019-10-02T19:47:29Z")
I would think a B-17 with no bomb load should be able to climb easily on three engines. If #3 failed, my guess is that it was only a partial factor. I just went through a long list of non-combat crashes of B-17’s, and could only find two crashes on takeoff in the airplane’s history. Interestingly, one of them was flown by [Gene Roddenberry](https://www.pacificwrecks.com/people/veterans/roddenberry/index.html). His crash involved an unspecified ‘mechanical failure’ and he aborted takeoff and ran off the end of the runway. No word if Scotty was demoted for the mechanical failure. B-17’s sure don’t crash often. The last one was ‘Liberty Belle’ in 2011. Another one was destroyed in 1989 during the filming of ‘Memphis Belle’, and the next one before that in 1976. So that’s three crashes in 43 years. There are still roughly ten B-17’s that are airworthy, along with another half dozen or so that are being restored to airworthy state. There are many more that are on display in various places. I fully support continued flying of WWII aircraft, except in the case of sole surviving birds. As long as there are some in storage or on display, why not fly the airworthy ones? Flying them helps keep them airworthy, for one thing. And there’s nothing like seeing an old WWII bird flying over. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-17-crash-in-connecticut/841151/18 "2019-10-02T21:01:59Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > The museum curators point out that there won’t be anything left to understand (or study) when (not if) they crash. No one need worry on that account. There are many non-flying ones in museums. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-17-crash-in-connecticut/841151/19 "2019-10-02T21:37:38Z")
This is just awful. There’s no words. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-17-crash-in-connecticut/841151/20 "2019-10-02T21:40:41Z")
> [@Nawth\_Chucka](#): > > This is just awful. There’s no words. I hate when these aircraft are destroyed. Still, this crash wasn’t as devastating as the loos of the B-29 ‘Kee Bird’. When the documentary came out, I could barely watch it because I knew how it would end. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-17-crash-in-connecticut/841151.md?page=2)