B-17 Liberty Belle fire & landing in Oswego,Ill, EVERYONE OK

[Jesse C.]

First off, mad props to the crew for bringing in a badly wounded bird and making it possible for all to survive the ordeal.

I hope that the Liberty folks know they can count on us for support in any way we can give it. Right?

[JägerMarty]

Glad they got the crew down safely, how aweful!

[Randy Haskin]

Well....I guess this means Mr. Brooks now has some time and motivation to dedicate toward the Labrador B-17!

[Invader26]

RIP "Liberty Belle"...

To Don, Tom, Ray and the team you've done so much todate to bring this bird back to life and share her with so many.

A sad ending but no casualties....well done to all concerned.

Don't shed a tear but raise a glass to her....

[Punisher05]

Liberty Foundation ~ Bless you all

Outstanding job, Peter.


-Brandon

[PeterA]

Fond memories.

Duxford, Legends, 2008.

PeterA

[Rauhbatz]

Don...we can't wait until you get busy on Liberty Belle II.......

[dave586]

More photos.. sad day.

No speculation of the current indecent here just a bit information.
I was on board Chuckie in 1987 when we had an "inflight" fire in the accessory area of number 1. It happened right as we were about to touch down. A fuel hose pulled loose right as Doc throttled the engine back. The fire flared the length of the fuselage...I only saw the video of it that day. The onboard extinguishers worked that day. I'm not sure it would have worked had we been really inflight at flying airspeed for very long...I remember discussions about this at the time.
Quite an attention getter.

I was riding in the nose on that landing Didn't have any idea what was going on until I got off the plane. I knew something as wrong, but the Hospers' and crew did a great job of getting everyone off in a safe and calm manner.

[Wingmanb25]

I’ve included some photos that I took while doing the restoration of Liberty Belle at the Flying Tiger Warbird Museum in Kissimmee. Hopefully they’ll give you an idea of how she was constructed and hence restored.
The first picture show the starboard wing and the fuel tanks prior to being installed.
The second picture shows the number 1 engine turbocharger (top of the photo) , the #2 engine turbocharger (at the bottom of the white rope) and the location where the fuel tank was to be mounted.. Note the access panel down by where the #2 turbocharger is located. From the photos posted showing the flames while she was airborne - they may have been coming from that panel location. FYI the turbochargers were not used as she didn’t fly at altitudes where they were needed, however they were connected to the exhaust system.
The next photo shows engine 2 located next to the fuselage and how it’s exhaust is routed back in the wing.
The last photo illustrated the many fluid lines that go between the fuselage and the starboard wing.- the port wing looks the same.
Her loss leaves a void with us, but at least we had many hours of appreciating a a piece of American history.
She was flown by an excellent flight crew and her support personal should be thanked for the may hours that they took in bringing to the public an important piece of American History.
Use this link to see photos
http://suncoastwings.com/LB/Photos.htm

[Bluedharma]

I have been reading this thread and thinking a bit about the title.
"B-17 Liberty Belle crashes in Oswego,Ill, EVERYONE OK"

But that isn't accurate is it?
The Liberty Belle didn't "crash". From what I have seen (pictures) and read:
Some type of fire happened...
The #2 prop was feathered, and she did a landing on the gear.
Just happens that she landed in a field. This wasn't a crash... but a in-flight fire that spread once she landed and consumed the aircraft after the crew left.

A in-flight fire is a huge threat. The fact that the Liberty Belle was landed safely is a giant credit to the pilot and crew.
The thread should read B-17 Liberty Belle makes emergency landing in Ill, Everyone OK.
There really wasn't a crash.

Am I off base here?

Best Regards,

[Wingmanb25]

See how the NTSB identifies it. I imagine it'll be shown on this link.

http://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/month.aspx

[Bluedharma]

See how the NTSB identifies it. I imagine it'll be shown on this link.

http://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/month.aspx

Yeah I guess I can wait... but I still say it was not a "crash"

CRASH: Aeronautics . to cause (an aircraft) to make a landing in an abnormal manner, usually damaging or wrecking the aircraft.

This was a emergency landing. The fire destroyed the aircraft "AFTER" the landing. But this landing looked good on the first pictures (even if it was in a field).

[Wingmanb25]

WWII aircraft used "airfields" because they were - just fields. Unlike the paved runways we have today.

[Lynn Allen]

I wonder if they feathered the engine to shut the fuel off? Its a sad and empty feeling to see it burn up and to see the burnt hull afterwards...

[lmritger]

Seems like we're starting to stray into the "how long is a piece of string?" area, but FWIW, perhaps "Liberty Belle destroyed after forced landing, everyone OK" might satisfy the requirements of those objecting to the word "crash"?

Lynn