B-17 (Liberty Belle) crash outside Chicago
 

:(:(:( !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Glad everybody got out.)

Both a sad and glad day as noted in the article.

USMCFLYR

Dang, there are not many of those left flying.....and now its one less. Very sad day.

Dang, it was one of my favorites.

Saw it in SLC about 2 months ago. Gorgeous airplane. It's sad to see a plane like that go up in flames, but kudos to the crew for a successful evacuation.

A sad loss of such a treasure and another example of the value of an experienced and skilled pilot at the controls. Well done sir, and sorry to the foundation for the loss of such a beautiful B-17.

Yet another "veteran" of WWII has passed. She may not have survived, but like so many of her sisters, with the help of a skilled crew, she brought the boys back home.

These two articles show what a great job the crew did choosing a field and landing with the gear down. #2 is obviously feathered but it looks like the fire started well aft of the firewall. Maybe in the supercharger area.


Vintage B-17 Flying Fortress crashes with seven people aboard | Mail Online

WWII bomber that made fiery landing in Aurora cornfield had maintenance over weekend - chicagotribune.com


Edit: Apparently the turbos were non-active on that airplane.

A four engine tail dragger...... I'll really miss that one.:(