[Milsurplus] B17

[CL in NC]

>From our historian at Lucky 13:

It’s Nine O’ Nine from the Collings Foundation.  Of course, she’s not the real Nine O’ Nine.   The real one, 42-31909, flew some 140 missions with the 91BG.  This one was actually 44-83575.  Like most survivors, she was a built too late to see combat.  

The Collings Foundation regularly tours the Eastern US, so I’ve seen her in person several times.  They’re not the friendliest people in the world, but they’re still part of our community.  

Seeing the photos, it’s pretty bad.  All that’s left is the tail gun and outer left wing.  Last I heard, two are dead and six are horrifically burned.  None of the 13 involved have been shown yet though.  

I put up a notice as soon as I heard, calling to pray for everyone’s safety.  

A PB4Y-2 (Navy converted B-24) crashed 15 years or so ago in California due to a wing spar failure.  It was putting out forest fires.  When that happened, the federal government put out a requirement that any four-engine aircraft over a certain age get new wing spars.  That hit the historic aviation community hard.  

The crash of Liberty Belle didn’t cause too big a splash back when it happened because nobody was hurt and the aircraft was poorly restored.  The Collings Foundation takes pretty good care of their aircraft though, as they have plenty of money.  

Whatever comes out of this, I think it is bound to be harsh.  

Sad day.  


de Charlie, W4MEC in NC