FAA bans owner of WWII planes from flying passengers after fatal October crash

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Omaha World Herald

By Steve Liewer

A nonprofit group that for years has brought historic World War II aircraft to Nebraska for public flights has lost its right to carry passengers after an investigation into a fatal crash in Connecticut last year revealed serious safety violations.

The decision by the Federal Aviation Administration revokes the permission the Massachusetts-based Collings Foundation had obtained to allow paying passengers aboard 10 aircraft it owns.

One of those planes, the B-17G bomber Nine O Nine, developed engine trouble, crash-landed and burned Oct. 2 shortly after taking off from Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. The pilot, co-pilot, and five passengers died in the crash. Six others survived, some with severe burns.

Collings had frequently brought the Nine O Nine and several other vintage aircraft to Eppley Airfield and other Nebraska airports on its nationwide Wings of Freedom tour, most recently in July 2019. For $15, visitors could get a close look at the planes, which also included a B-24 Liberator named Witchcraft, a P-51 Mustang named Toulouse Nuts and a P-40 Warhawk named Jaws.





Read more: https://www.omaha.com/news/military/faa-bans-owner-of-wwii-planes-from-flying-passengers-after/article_d609504d-29fc-558c-8885-a3d147c7ce0e.html

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I flew in that plane back in 2015: https://www.democraticunderground.com/10026991786

[MichMan]

1. I flew in a B-17 myself last year

It wasn't the Nine O Nines, but one operated by a group in Michigan. One of the coolest things I ever experienced. I too was surprised at how cramped it was inside.

Ended up being asked to sit in the bombardiers position in thee front clear nosecone for the landing. Quite a rush sitting out there as we came down and landed on the runway.

[Kaleva]

3. I was impressed by the very brief safety lecture we got before take off

Don't open the door.

[MichMan]

4. They told us a few things when I flew in one

1) Don't stick your camera up through the roof as the wind will rip it out of your hands as well as sunglasses or a hat. The camera might even dent the tail, and the guys that restored it don't like that

2) If you drop something down into the bomb bay, don't try and retrieve it as the doors open with a force of 100 pounds. That got our attention

[Kaleva]

6. the opening in the roof was big enough to stick your head out of.

The wind blinded me when i looked forward and I could only see when looking to the side and back

[Dennis Donovan]

16. Gripping it with my life, I put my camera up out of the dorsal gun position and did a 360

It's in the clip below, near the end.

[Dennis Donovan]

14. I flew in the "movie Memphis Belle" (used in the movie) in 2012 - filmed the experience:

[dchill]

17. Lucky! Thanks for sharing that experience.

[Dennis Donovan]

18. It was a blast

[Kaleva]

2. I flew on the Yankee Air Museum's B-17 back in the 90's

https://yankeeairmuseum.org/aircraft-collection/

[MichMan]

5. That was the one I flew in too

[joanbarnes]

7. Meanwhile..taxpayers bail out Boeing who willingly produced unsafe aircraft.

[FailureToCommunicate]

8. We were in that plane the week before the crash. There were dozens of elderly vets there, getting

so much attention from younger generations, who, with the stories they were hearing, and seeing first hand the bare bones, lethal aircraft frames those poor men flew into battle in... well, it was terribly apparent the sacrifices they and too many like them made.

[Crowman2009]

25. Not to downplay, but if you thought that was dangerous...

...you should read about First World War bombers.

[mitch96]

9. The B-17 is neat but for my money I would love to fly in a c-47/DC-3...

Flew in a restored WW2 Stearman primary trainer a few years ago and it was a hoot. When the pilot/owner found out I flew gliders he gave me the controls and said have some fun!! Now THAT was neat.
m

[FuzzyRabbit]

11. I got to fly in a C-47 a couple times in college.

I was in Air Force ROTC and the air force would take us on trips. I remember one of the ROTC cadets did not know that C-47 wings flexed a lot, and he thought they were broken.

C-47s and DC-3s were not pressurized, so they could not fly above the weather. Sometimes the plane would rock and roll several degrees in the weather, sort of like a small boat in rough seas.

One time the C-47 suddenly dropped a several dozen feet as it crossed over a mountain range. We sat on benches (no seats, it was a cargo plane) and several of us flew up off the benches as the plane dropped. I can still hear the loud bang the plane made when it bottomed out.

I was not on that plane when an engine fell of just before takeoff.

Modern jet travel is boring compared with these older aircraft.

[mitch96]

20. My neighbor ran a small airline in Michigan....... small being one reconditioned C-47

He did milk runs from the souther part of the state to the northern part and the UP...
He said the plane was over engineered and built like a tank... It always got him home.. My kinda plane..
m

[Crowman2009]

26. I believe a few of those are still flying in Africa.

[Salviati]

10. My brother in law was in that plane last march...

[The Magistrate]

12. Horrible For People To Die And Suffer Like That, Sir

A shame to lose the old airplane, too.

[AtheistCrusader]

13. Given that crash photo, it beggars belief that anyone survived at all.

[DinahMoeHum]

15. One of my uncles flew B-17s as a navigator back then.

He was fortunate to survive his 25-mission tour of duty (he got the Distinguished Flying Cross and 3 Air Medals) and join the "Lucky Bastards Club". That was back in 1943-early 1944 and those planes didn't have fighter cover ('little friends') yet.





#newrostrong

[bucolic_frolic]

19. Not your daily flyer

Cars reach an age where they are no longer your daily driver. Parts become unavailable or remanufactured, systems that have never failed and are serviced regularly still have 275,000 miles on them. Something could fail on any given day, something unforeseen. You can't disassemble everything and rebuild even if you had unlimited funds. Often you can't even build new parts if you tried, the manufacturing equipment is gone, nuances of processes lost or forgotten. Technology just reaches a past due date.

[Major Nikon]

21. You'd be surprised

Years ago I visited a hangar that was restoring WWII aircraft. Several of them had all the panels removed and you could see every part of the aircraft. They most certainly were disassembling everything and rebuilding them. They replace all the critical components with new including manufacturing new parts if they can't be sourced. When they are done the aircraft look and operate as new and probably better than new given the mass production of the day when they were new. There's an entire industry built around keeping these aircraft flying and there's some extremely talented people involved.

[bucolic_frolic]

23. Yes, I believe you're correct

When I was a kid we went to see WWI aircraft at the Old Rhinebeck Aerdrome several times. They would explain some don't fly anymore, or some not this summer, under maintenance. So I guess it can be done, budgetary limitations notwithstanding.

[Major Nikon]

22. Here's a link to the decision by the FAA

https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=FAA-2001-11089-1673

[Codeine]

24. That's very sad.

I’d eagerly accept that particular risk/reward calculus, I’ve just never had the combination of funds and opportunity.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

27. Check the DU archives for posts on October 2, 2019. There were several.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=archives&date=2019x10x2

From LBN:

At least two dead, multiple people injured, after World War II-era plane crashes at Connecticut's Br

[Chainfire]

28. The place

for these historic planes is in museums. They have been killing people for nearly 80 years, it is time to retire them.