Very sad: Collins Foundation B-17 crashes

[DenverGP]

https://www.wfsb.com/news/five-people-killed-in-b--crash-at-bradley/article_d514bd24-e51d-11e9-b6ac-47e02ec67428.html

[Bailey Guns]

I was heartbroken when I heard the news this morning.

[MrAK]

Sad. Every day we lose more of our history from WWII; reminds me to appreciate that history while it’s here, wether it be found in inanimate objects or in its human form.

[Gman]

Saw this in the news this morning. My first and primary concern is to those that died or were injured in the crash. I also feel bad about losing the historic aircraft. Prayers go out to the families affected.

[Justin]

Ugh. This is such a bummer.

[BPTactical]

Very sad.
Brings up a critical argument.
Is there a time when these ol birds should be retired to a museum? Looking at both sides of the coin, these AC were never intended with longevity a priority. But then again on many of them so little of the original AC remains?

[Justin]

The question is really, what's the source of the accident?

Was it the result of a mechanical failure?

If so, was the failure in components that are antique, or ones that are newly made?

Presumably the FAA has to certify them for airworthiness, so is there an issue here that could be addressed?

I don't know, and can't even pretend to have the answers here. The loss of life and of an historic aircraft really hurts though.

[FoxtArt]

Based on an educated eyewitness, it lost the #3 engine (inboard, starboard) shortly after takeout - flameout and smoke, etc. It then began a wide circle to land back at the airport.

There's no evidence it suffered anything other than an engine failure.

A big problem I see with these warbirds is not their reliability - these were over engineered and are well maintained - a big issue is who is flying the things. Normally you see guys that are 60, 70+ in the pilots seat. E.g. the ones with enough street cred in the orgs and enough time to put in because they are retired. They wouldn't have any of them young whippersnappers (50 or under) in the hot seat if they could help it.

An investigation will surely bring final answers here, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say a) yes the plane had an issue, but a skilled pilot should've been able to safely land it. I'm betting they panicked a bit and landed despite not having great alignment. Probably should have powered through, and done a nice big turn to get it right, even if there was an outright fire on the #3, they had time. I hate to say it too, but yeah, the OG's might have experience, but these old pilots have drastically delayed reaction times.

I don't see any reason to stop flying them, if we address the pilot issue. The failure rate on these guys is far lower than many more modern planes (C-130 comes to mind). They can't corrode, and with multiengines, you SHOULD be able to recover from a single engine loss. With regular maintenance and stripping on schedules, I don't know that you could ever wear out their airframe.

Definitely saddened by the loss of life, and the aircraft. There was one flying in these parts just two weeks ago, different org though.

[rondog]

Oh man, not the Nine-Oh-Nine.....how sad.....

https://youtu.be/H-uZoTDFs4M

[Bailey Guns]

What a great video, rondog. Makes me even more sad.