B-17 "Liberty Belle" burns to the ground...

[Guest jahman]

Folks,A sad day indeed: B-17 "Liberty Belle" burns to the ground after a No. 2 engine in-flight fire drives crew to an emergency landing in a field. The field was too soft for the fire engines to make it to the aircraft, so the B-17 crew (all alive and well) watched as Liberty Bell said her fairwell.CNN Video. Photos. ABC News article and video. "Liberty Belle" Foundation Statement.A fond farewell to Liberty Belle's proud heritage!- jahman.

[Chock 17,769]

Oh crap. That's a real bummer. Still, at least they all got out of it okay.Al

[tf51d 284]

Folks,A sad day indeed: B-17 "Liberty Belle" burns to the ground after a No. 2 engine in-flight fire drives crew to an emergency landing in a field. The field was too soft for the fire engines to make it to the aircraft, so the B-17 crew (all alive and well) watched as Liberty Bell said her fairwell.CNN Video. Photos. ABC News article and video. "Liberty Belle" Foundation Statement.A fond farewell to Liberty Belle's proud heritage!- jahman.

Thank God no one was seriously hurt (There was one minor injury) It is a tragic loss though to the WWII Warbird community to lose a plane like this. There are not many left. It's interesting to note in the ABC video it's mentioned they were having fuel leak problems. We'll have to wait for the official report to be sure, but right now that looks like the most likely cause.

[Guest jahman]

Liberty Belle in her better days:And taking it on the nose as a flying testbet for a fifth engine (of the P&W variety!)I wonder if the Wright Cyclones got jealous and all four quit and feathered themselves in disgust:- jahman.

[Matthew Kane 1,343]

She is tough and she saved everyone on board in that crash. Testimate to the B-17.Seeing those images is a bit of a reminder of the crashes back in the service days in England when they used to limp back from missions over Europe. It was common to see that sort of crash in the fields. Damn shame to lose one today though

[SpiritFlyer 987]

What a sad loss! In the 90's I had the privledge of crawling through "Liberty Belle" thereby gaining a whole new perspective on what once was. If my memory serves me correctly, it seemed in near mint condition at the time. The A2A B-17 version strikes a reasonably realistic portrayal.Glad all made it out.Kind regards,

[brucets 94]

If you don't mind viewing a couple family fotos here's a pretty good video I made of the Belle 2 years ago here in DEN. I have the A2A B-17 and a few years back I asked Nathan ( Nath), one of the best painters, for a Liberty Belle paint. He responded with a beautiful one which is available, as Steven mentioned.http://vimeo.com/25243494So long to the Belle!Bruce

[Guest jahman]

If you don't mind viewing a couple family fotos here's a pretty good video I made of the Belle 2 years ago here in DEN. I have the A2A B-17 and a few years back I asked Nathan ( Nath), one of the best painters, for a Liberty Belle paint. He responded with a beautiful one which is available, as Steven mentioned.http://vimeo.com/25243494So long to the Belle!Bruce

What a great video! Thanks for posting!Cheers,- jahman.

[HughesMDflyer4 470]

She is tough and she saved everyone on board in that crash. Testimate to the B-17.Seeing those images is a bit of a reminder of the crashes back in the service days in England when they used to limp back from missions over Europe. It was common to see that sort of crash in the fields. Damn shame to lose one today though

People are calling it a crash. It was not a crash. They landed safely. The fire just burned the aircraft after the landing. Didn't they have fire extinguishers on board the plane though? If I were one of the crew members, I would have been doing all I could to put that fire out.Glad everyone was okay, though. I too have been inside this same B-17. She sure was a beauty.

[brucets 94]

Yes, the web site has a picture of the Belle after landing with no damage other than the small fire on the port wing. Though on the scene, the fire equipment could not reach the ac due to the wet field condition so they all just watched it burn. Very sad.Bruce

[meshman 109]

Didn't they have fire extinguishers on board the plane though? If I were one of the crew members, I would have been doing all I could to put that fire out.

You've got a plane laden with fuel and a fire in the wing/engine area. A portable fire extinguisher inside the plane. Think about that for a bit and let us know if you're still willing to chance a few hundred gallons of fuel going off as you're trying to get the fire extinguisher to work.The crew made the best choice possible, get the hell away from a burning object that might explode and leave the heroics to the professional firefighters. Circumstances prohibited a happy ending in this situation.

[mgh 89]

You've got a plane laden with fuel and a fire in the wing/engine area. A portable fire extinguisher inside the plane. Think about that for a bit and let us know if you're still willing to chance a few hundred gallons of fuel going off as you're trying to get the fire extinguisher to work.The crew made the best choice possible, get the hell away from a burning object that might explode and leave the heroics to the professional firefighters. Circumstances prohibited a happy ending in this situation.

Exactly. It's not worth risking a life over. The crew took the correct decision.

[Superpilotv2 2]

That´s indeed a tragic loss.

[Guest jahman]

She will live on as an FSX repaint of the wonderful B-17 from A2A Accu-Sim. It will be an honour to fly her!Cheers, -jahman.

[Superpilotv2 2]

Anyone remembers the "Memphis Belle" addon for FS9/CFS3 made by Just Flight? Just rediscovered in my cupboard. Could someone make a paint with is for this plane?