![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/original-909-300x200.jpg\")
\nThe Original B-17 “909”<\/p>\n
\nThe Original B-17 “909”<\/p>\n
The bomber involved in Tuesday\u2019s fatal crash in Connecticut never made it to war, but served as a search and rescue plane and water bomber.<\/em><\/p>\n By Kyle Mizokami<\/p>\n The original Nine-O-Nine,\u00a0 a Boeing B-17G \u201cFlying Fortress\u201d bomber was one of the nearly 13,000 built over the course of World War II, serving in both the Pacific and European theaters. Each four-engine bomber had a crew of ten, a top speed of 287 miles an hour, and could carry a payload of 4,500 bombs on a long distance bombing mission.<\/p>\n The B-17G “909” was assigned to the 323rd Bomb Squadron, 91st Bomb Group. Nine-O-Nine was part of the legendary Eighth Air Force, or \u201cMighty Eighth,\u201d a bomber force that struck strategic targets across Germany and occupied Europe. The aircraft\u2019s name came from the last three numbers of its serial number, and the\u00a0nose art depicted a Revolutionary War soldier holding a telescope and riding a bomb.<\/p>\n A restored B-17, built too late to serve in World War II, was later restored to resemble the original Nine O Nine. The aircraft had a long postwar career, including a stint as a target in nuclear tests, before a lengthy rebuilding process restored her to flying condition.<\/p>\n This plane, serial number #44-83575<\/a>, never saw combat but was converted to a search and rescue aircraft in 1951 and served in Puerto Rico. The aircraft later served as part of the Military Air Transport Service, the precursor to the Air Force\u2019s Air Mobility Command.<\/p>\n Retired from U.S. military service, the aircraft was renamed \u201cMiss Yucca\u201d and parked on a nuclear test range in Nevada. There she was subjected to three different nuclear explosions to test the effects of nuclear weapons on aircraft. After a 13-year \u201ccooling down period\u201d to allow radiation to subside, the bomber was sold as scrap to the Aircraft Specialties Company, which began a lengthy restoration. The bomber then served twenty years as a forest fire water bomber, dropping water and borate on forest fires.<\/p>\n In 1986 the bomber was sold to the Collings Foundation, which restored the plane to wartime condition as Nine-O-Nine. In 1987 the bomber was involved in a serious crash, which the Foundation described as follows:<\/p>\n In August 1987, while performing at an airshow in western Pennsylvania, \u201cNine-O-Nine\u201d was caught by a severe crosswind moments after touchdown. The right wing lifted in the air, finally coming down too far down the runway. Despite the efforts of her crew, she rolled off the end of the runway, crashed through a chain link fence, sheared off a power pole and roared down a 100-foot ravine to a thundering stop. The landing gear sheared off, the chin turret was smashed and pushed into the nose; the Plexiglas nose was shattered; bomb bay doors, fuselage, fuselage, ball turret, wing and nacelles all took a tremendous beating. Engines and propellers were also torn form their mounts. Fortunately, there were no fatalities to the crew or riders although there were injuries.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Following the crash Nine-O-Nine was restored for a third time, stopping at over 1,200 locations before the October 2, 2019 accident, where tragically seven people lost their lives. A full investigation is still ongoing to determine what caused the crash. Perry Gaskill was thoughtful enough to provide the NTSB findings of the incident.<\/p>\n “According to the NTSB report, the B-17G had taken off from Bradley Although the aircraft was badly damaged, NTSB investigators were able to The last verbal report by the pilot said the plane was having a “rough mag” Also reported was that the starboard inboard (Number 3) engine prop pitch What was also curious was that the NTSB found that the “left and right wing Mostly ruled out as a possible cause of the crash was a problem with the If anything, the crash of Nine O Nine seems to point to the inherent risk, The entire NTSB report may be found here: NTSB.gov <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n
\nRef. Popular Mechanics<\/p>\n
\nInternational Airport, Windsor Locks, Connecticut, with three crew and ten
\npassengers. Shortly after takeoff, a pilot had reported a problem with one
\nengine and said he was returning to land. It bomber wasn’t able to make it,
\ninstead clipping a runway light and then hitting a deicer tank on a taxiway
\nbefore catching fire. Seven of the 13 aboard did not survive.<\/p>\n
\npull together evidence which points to some likely causes of the crash.<\/p>\n
\n(magneto) problem with the starboard outboard engine (Number 4). This might
\nhave caused faulty ignition and the engine to run rough. After the crash,
\nthe prop pitch on Number 4 was also found to be “feathered” which meant it
\nwas likely shut down.<\/p>\n
\nindicated it was in the process of being feathered at the time of the
\naccident. This would seem to indicate that both power plants on one side of
\nthe aircraft were having a problem during the critical seconds when the
\nplane was turning from the base leg to the final approach portion of the
\nlanding pattern. <\/p>\n
\nflap jackscrews corresponded to a flaps retracted setting.” This apparently
\nwould have meant the aircraft’s stall speed was likely higher than it would
\nbe in a normal landing. Cables and controls to the flaps were found to be
\nintact.<\/p>\n
\nfuel. NTSB tests found no contamination in what was left of Nine O
\nNine’s<\/i> fuel tanks, and said that aircraft fueled with the same 100LL
\nAvGas both before and after the crash had not had any issues.<\/p>\n
\nhowever minor, of how relatively minor events can spool in a way to make
\nthings get very bad, very quickly. In the words of Ernest K. Gann, sometimes
\nfate is the hunter.”<\/p>\n