Warbird Information Exchange

The fuel petcock for the outboard fuel strainer is in that general area. The only person who could have seen it would have been an observer in the waist area. He probably saved all seven lives to see another day. "Sentimental Journey" does not have a fire warning system other than the eyes of the crew members. It has two fire bottles but unless the fire is contained in the engine cowling area, they are totally useless as are the fuel shutoff valves at the firewall. The crew did a spectacular job of getting the plane down safely. Sad day though as we have lost a very historic aircraft.

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The more I learn about aircraft, the more I realize I still have to learn.

Scott, I feel the same way. Like its a death in the family...which it actually is. Don Brooks and gang are a great bunch! And im very happy to hear that everyone got out ok.
I was very excited when I heard the news that Don was having the aircraft painted in the 390th BG colors... The same as my Grandfather. It was great to be on the wing of Liberty Belle many of times in Thunderbird. I just saw LB and crew just a few months back at Hooks Airport here close to the house. A very sad day today.

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Never drive faster than your Guardian Angel can fly!!

http://www.390th.org/
www.LSFM.org

Trae

I am glad there were no injuries. A real shame to lose the aiframe though.

Mike



Aerial Visuals - Airframe Dossier - B-17G-105-VE Fortress, s/n 44-85734 USAAF, c/n 8643, c/r NL390TH

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Mike R. Henniger
Aviation Enthusiast & Photographer
http://www.AerialVisuals.ca
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Do you want to find locations of displayed, stored or active aircraft? Then start with the The Locator.
Do you want to find or contribute to the documented history of an aircraft? If so then start with the Airframes Database.

I had a friend call me to advise me of the loss, he related that the P-40 they were traveling with spotted the fire...dunno if that's the case.

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He bowls overhand...He is the most interesting man in the world.
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DBF

I feel devastated and sick... I can't quite believe it...

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"A B-24 was the box a B-17 came in!" - One crew teasing another circa 1944!

Like everyone else, I'm heartbroken over the loss of the airplane, but thankful she brought everyone safely to the ground. Great job by the flight crew! The P40 pilot flying next to them was also a big part of why they all walked away. You can hear the ATC audio on ATCLive here: http://www.liveatc.net/forums/atcaviati ... /#msg50931 (You'll need to register).

Wow. All I can say is thank God everyone got out okay.

One note - while the Fire Department probably does have foam (many fire departments have it now because it's used even on structure fires now), even if they had it in the volume needed, you have to also realize that most aircraft have a lot of magnesium in them. When that's the case, you don't want foam, you want dry chemicals. Water and burning magnesium are not a good combination. Additionally, had they gotten back to the airport it wouldn't have mattered, Aurora Muni doesn't have ARFF, much less Aqueous Foam or Dry Chemical. They would've had to make one of the major airports in the Chicago area for that.

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-Bill
B-17E 41-2595 "Desert Rat" Restoration Team

+1
Thanks to her crew there will be "no empty bunks tonight"

Heres a trip in the wayback machine....



In the middle of the lot at NEAM in the late 80's, the center section of the old P&W B-17.

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"Hindsight is usually 20% off!"

It's been said many times already, but AWESOME job by the crew getting it on the ground and everyone out safely.

Guys, if you weren't already doing it yesterday, make sure you're doing it today... Practice your emergency procedures until you can perform them in your sleep. Preperation and competence is what saves lives. It was proven again today.

Chunks

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Jack McDonnel

T-6/SNJ Hoarder

I am in extreme shock and feel like I just lost a brother. I can't explain the feeling but feel just helpless.

After seeing video I am a bit pissed off the fire crews did not promptly put out the fire. The video showed they lazily hitting the fire with ONE fire hose. Then stopping to take a break with the fire still going! Jesus!

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Nathan, as has been said several times above, there's just nothing they could have done. Just a few posts before yours it was pointed out that even if they'd made it back to Aurora, the result would've been the same because Aurora doesn't have the sort of firefighting capabilities needed to put out such a fierce fire. It's sad, yes, and it hurts to see something we all hold dear vanish in flames, but the firefighters have lives and families too... no sense in them risking their lives when they didn't have the equipment to put out that massive fire.

Let's just focus on what's REALLY important here- everyone got to go home safely at the end of the day, which is due entirely to the skill and professionalism of the Belle's crew.

Lynn

Unless you've been trained as a firefighter, I wouldn't criticize the firefighters there. With the multitude of factors they were dealing with (muddy field, large aircraft on fire, and fueled up), there wasn't much they could do. Trust me, firefighters love putting fires out. But sometimes there are fires just too big for their equipment to handle. And unless they were there the minute LB touched down, there was no way they were going to save her no matter what equipment they had.

Looking ahead, how far along is their other B-17?

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