The Liberty Foundation's very popular B-17 Flying Fortress, 'Liberty Belle', made an emergency landing in a farm field near Oswego shortly after takeoff from Aurora Municipal Airport (ARR). According to the FAA, there were seven people reported on board the aircraft and, per local emergency services radio communications, all appear to have survived the emergency landing without significant injuries. It appears only one minor injury was reported.
The pilot apparently declared an emergency with air traffic controllers due to an engine fire prior to landing in a farm field. Still photos of the scene by news helicopters showed the left inboard engine in a 'feathered' position. This indicates the pilot shutdown the engine in flight and adjusted the angle of the propellers to limit the effect of drag that the non-functional engine would create. The attached video shows the airplane made a successful landing in the field, but the airplane was destroyed in the emergency landing as the engine fire spread to the rest of the aircraft. Fire crews from multiple surrounding communities responded to the scene to assist the survivors and to try and extinguish the flames in order to salvage as much of the burning wreckage as possible.
The airplane had been at the Aurora airport as part of it's 'Salute to Veterans Tour' and also to mark the 67th Anniversary of D-Day. The foundation was offering rides in the B-17 as well as a P-40 Warhawk during the weekend event. Rides were scheduled to be about 20 minutes long and cost $1,150 for non-Liberty Foundation members and $950 for members for the P-40 and the B-17 flights were $430 for non-members and $390 for foundation members.
The airplane was grounded on Monday, June 6, shortly after arrival in Aurora due to engine problems that were subsequently repaired. Flights continued the remainder of the week and weekend without any further issues. It is unknown at this time if the engine involved in today's emergency was also the one repaired a week ago.
ATC audio of the incident can be found on LiveATC.net's forums, free registration is required to listen to the file in the post. A T-6 airplane had departed with the Liberty Belle and was supposed to escort her to her destination. It was initially reported as a Lima Lima Flight Team airplane; however, a spokesperson for the team stated that it was not one of their aiplanes. (Our apologies to Lima Lima for the error in the original story.) The T-6 pilot that departed with the B-17 in formation can be heard yelling 'you're on fire!' to the B-17 multiple times. The ATC controller is heard trying to identify who is making the transmission and then finally is able to spot the aircraft and asks the T-6 pilot to confirm it is the B-17 that is experiencing the emergency. The pilot is then heard telling the B-17 to 'put her on the ground as', from his exterior vantage point, he was probably able to better determine the severity of the engine fire. The assistance of the pilot in the T-6 possibly helped to ensure the survival of all aboard the B-17. The callsign for the B-17 in the audio is N390TH.
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