All On Board Survive, Aircraft A Total Loss

The B-17 restored by The Liberty Foundation in Miami has gone down in a cornfield near Chicago. While all seven people on board the aircraft survived, the rare warbird was lost due to a post-crash fire.

Liberty Belle File Photo

Media sources including MSNBC and WLS Radio in Chicago indicate that the pilot reported an in-flight fire shortly after takeoff at 0930 CDT Monday from Aurora Municipal Airport (KARR) in Illinois. It went down in a muddy field about five minutes later, according to FAA spokesperson Elizabeth Isham Cory.

Several residents said that they saw the aircraft flying low with "flames coming out of it." WLS indicates that a media flight on board the aircraft, which was in Aurora for the airport's "Salute to Veterans," was cancelled Thursday because of engine problems. Pilot Mike Walton said the No. 3 engine was "throwing code," meaning there was a cockpit warning light associated with the engine.

NTSB air-safety investigator Tim Sorensen told The Daily Herald that that the crew reported that they smelled smoke shortly after takeoff, and were attempting to locate its source when they were informed by the pilot of another aircraft that the B-17 was on fire. It appeared to have begun in the airplane's No. 2 engine, inboard on the Flying Fortress's port side.

Sorensen said most of the damage to the airplane came after it was on the ground. A person who lives near the field said as he was walking towards the downed plane a fuel explosion broke the airplane in half, and the ensuing fire destroyed the entire center part of the fuselage. Pictures of the accident show the aircraft with the entire fuselage from the wings to the tail destroyed by the fire.  Local firefighters from several departments were called in to fight the blaze, but muddy conditions made it impossible for them to reach the airplane.

One person was reportedly slightly injured in the accident.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov, www.libertyfoundation.org