Thu, Jun 16, 2011
B-17 Which Went Down Monday Near Chicago A Total Loss
Crews attempting to remove what's left of the B-17 "Liberty
Belle" following an emergency landing and fire in a cornfield
near Chicago Monday struggled in muddy conditions through the night
Tuesday.
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A Kendall County Sheriff's Office spokesman told the
Naperville (IL) Sun that workers would continue
the process until all of the remains of the airplane were removed
from the field, but they were being hampered by the soft ground and
the threat of more rain. The spokesperson said additional rain
would make it more difficult for flatbed trucks and cranes to
remove the large sections of the airplane that remained intact
after the fire.
The NTSB had also asked that members of the public stop coming
to the site of the accident to take pictures of the plane. Lead
investigator Tim Sorensen said that the wreckage would be removed
to an off-site location for further examination, but that the board
did not want that location made public.
Sorensen also identified John Hess as the PIC of Liberty Belle
when she went down. Hess reportedly managed to avoid houses and a
nearby school in maneuvering the plane to a wheels-down landing in
the cornfield. It is not yet known what started a fire in the No. 2
engine shortly after takeoff Monday.
Liberty Belle had been restored to flying condition by The
Liberty Foundation in Miami, FL, at a cost of some $3.5 million. It
was one of only 11 thought to be in flyable condition.
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