'Liberty Bell' B-17 Bomber crash, June 13, 2011

[jaydee040]

In 2009 the liberty bell gave one of her part time or spare engines to Sally B to keep her flying as Europe's only flying B17, in this little gesture part of her will continue in the skies. B17 did not carry the heaviest bomb loads but was the prettiest heavy bomber and could take a beating and get her crews home, gotta love that.

[perberge]

A sad moment for old time airplanes. A tragic moment for those who fly with this giant during WW2.

[MegaRocketroy]

memphisbell still flys today in museam for bieng only plane to finishtour of duty in war

[FiveCentsPlease]

@MegaRocketroy

The original Memphis Bell does not fly and has been moved back to the USAF Museum to be restored again. One airworthy B-17 has flown in the colors of the Memphis Bell for years.

[MegaRocketroy]

@r4106 this plane is liberty bell or memphis bell and was repaired and was the first plane to finish its tour of duty

[Dietzeeeee]

I got a chance to see it fly at the airport I work at. It was something else. There isn't any other airplane I have heard come through our airport that sounded anything like those 4 engines roaring. It is such a shame to see a piece of history go down like that. I am just glad no one was hurt.

[madcitymcflyer]

It was truly tragic that the 'Liberty Belle' was lost, since it was one of about five or

six operational B-17s that fly on a regular air show season or tour circuit. The remaining five or six flyable B-17s fly infrequently(e.g.Tallichet's 'Memphis Belle' replica), are undergoing extensive maintenance, or don't fly at all ('Boeing Bee'). Another five or six are undergoing VERY long-term restoration to flying status. It costs upwards of $3500 PER HOUR to fly a B-17, so savor seeing one fly...

[26091934]

A great loss, indeed.

[EstreetToTheDeath]

Does anyone know how many 17's are left in operation?

[KibbleDog007]

Tragic loss of this WW2 aircraft. I was fortunate to have had a flight in the Liberty Belle in 2006 out of Harmond Field in Stephenville, Newfoundland.

[PPiTTislakatamia]

sad...

[bugattti1]

Depressing really...

[xPolarGamingx]

Not really a crash.. he landed good, fire just ate through everything

[kakabukkake0]

Seeing footage like this makes me feel weird and sick to my stomach, big ol pile of broken dreams just smoldering in the sun-

Anyone know how many B-17s are still flying? I might have been in this airframe back at the trenton airport a few years ago, maybe not- Been INSIDE the one Shoo shoo baby at the Dayton Air Museum, we got a special after hours tour in like 96 or something when my dad went there to promote his book with our now deceased tailgunner friend Merlin Miller- Good times yo!!!

[Akirameerkat]

I saw that B-17 when It was in FT lauderdale, I got to go inside it, such a shame that now its gone.

[cwesnow]

What a shame. I rode on this very plane in 2007 & it was a fabulous ride. I just hate to see the Liberty Belle in flames. A sad photo, but now my ride turns priceless.

[madcitymcflyer]

Latest in the investigation of the in-flight fire is a failure in the #2 engine fuel shutoff

valve. Crew reported problems the day prior and decision was made to have repairs

made at the FBO in Ft. Wayne, IN, where staff had four-engine experience. One of passengers reported raw avgas was streaming back out of engine prior to fire.

CO2 bottles were activated and decision was to get onto ground immediately after left wing was observed to be on fire. Pilots made a beautiful landing though.

[sierraxr4icosie]

What a god-dam heartbreak!

[UnderMediKated]

I visited the Liberty Bell whenever it was in Omaha. The guys were always so nice to let us look around. I work in Omaha as an FAA technician and have a love for old aircraft. At least I have many great pictures for memories.

[MyVintageVictory]

Tears, G&K VintageVictory London

[RobinApprentice]

I love the Flying Fortress, I'm so sad to see this great piece of history go... still I have to commend the pilot for putting it down without getting anyone hurt. Its bittersweet I guess...

[GeniusCreator811]

This is hard to watch

[Zoidberg227]

@GeniusCreator811 Very, very hard to watch. We should think of the lives Liberty Belle and other pieces of living history have touched. Keep 'em flying.

[XStormfalconX]

It is very sad to see this warbird go in this manner.

Still, this legend did its job back in the day. May it never be forgotten.

Great to hear that the crew survived.

[LJKIrish]

Sad Story but a fitting tribute: The B-17 was very well known for returning her crews safely back to earth, no matter what battle damage was suffered!! If you want to read the most accurate and complete history of the B-17, read "The Mighty Eighth". Its a book that explains the 8th Air Forces history from the inception in Europe through the Berlin airlift. A good book about a great airplane!!!

[troysb17]

I belong to EAA and have flown on their B-17 several times, i saw her in Cincinnati the last time she was here and what sadness i felt to see a great lady go. My thanks to the pilot and crew who got everyone on board out.

[BiologicalUnit2380]

This is sad. I flew on this plane 4 years ago. It was a long-time dream of mine. These things happen to old warbirds though. Pilot did a great job of putting it down, & getting everyone off. I flew in a T-6 a few years ago, and the pilot drilled me on sliding the canopy back and bailing out in case of fire. (we both had chutes on). So - its sad, but not unusual.

[RickyJr46]

RIP, Liberty Belle, and great work by her crew to save everyone onboard.

[thegreatbungholio21]

My heart sunk when I heard about this. My grandpa flew on a B-17 in WW2 and had the pleasure of seeing this plane up close last year. The pilot did a superb job of landing it though...such as it is.

[Telechubby1]

I wonder how many civilians were killed by this plane.

[thegoof529]

@Telechubby1 0

[MadMilitiaMen]

@Telechubby1 I wonder how many brain cells did you have to scrape together to make such a moronic statement.

[spfilms4449]

@Telechubby1 0

[xcutekatie18x]

thumbs up if you like 'Liberty Bell' B-17 Bomber crash, June 13, 2011

[763873]

Obama to Launch Full Scale War on Libya in September!!

/watch?v=PpkuXKP3s-g

[tabrisbiebr20098]

This sucks because most of the B-17's r in muesums and there was only 12 left in operation, and now theres 11... :(

[j4cko56]

@tabrisbiebr20098 this is true, but there are only 2 Lancasters flying today, think the B-17 lucky! Luckier anyway lol

[flashstrikewing]

dumb ass fucks

[Derail07]

Was a good Plane. I seen it in person. May she RIP

[altops]

ah a little spit and polish she b good as new.

[dolaryonline]

zarabiaj-w-wakacje.wu.pl

[warhawk40]

I saw this plane in May 2000 being restored to flying condition in Kissimmee FL at Tom Reilly's warbird restoration shop. This plane was damaged from a tornado in 1979 at the Bradley Air Museum in Windsor Locks CT.

[devxc]

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo­oooooooooooooooooooooo! ;(

[amthomas0412]

I once flew on the Liberty Bell a few years ago when it visited the Carolinas Aviation Museum. The last time I saw it close up was at Monroe Airport about two years ago. It had a black tarp draped over it and I was told that the day before one of its four superchargers had apparently exploded. It was a shame they could'nt save the aircraft.

[Yoshka777]

тыдыыщь!!! его сбили русские партизаны из рогатки.

[radioguru21]

stop saying that is crashed people. it was a controlled landing and lost due to out of control fire. At least no one was hurt during this tragic loss.

[jayorn]

not much of a bomber if it didn't explode

[cybervore]

Such a loss of an incredible piece of history brings tears to my eyes!

[nemesisnyc]

that def sucks from ww2 to now and now it crashes .....

[r4106]

What a great pilot!! With his aircraft on fire he made a perfect gear down landing in a corn field with a heavy bomber. If you look closely, the gear is down and intact. The undamaged props indicate the engines were shut down without impact damage. All the damage seen is from the fire, not the landing.

[MrBrian987987]

omg nooooooooooooooooo

[raptorcat61]

Bombers with the "square J" insignia were out of Te base at Framlingham, in East Anglia. What a shame that this should happen to such a gallant lady.

[usaeagle1776]

damn, what a waste. they dont make them anymore.

[papavalium]

Well the bomber lasted a while...it's a relic that has finally been claimed by the Earth.

[jennam1987]

oh my how terrible! glad the people were okay.

[hanyoukimura]

If the firefighters had actually put the fire out instead of watching it burn because the "ground was too soft for their trucks" that plane would still be here. The plane made a safe landing in the field. There's a picture of it intact with what was at the time a small fire. It could have been saved and that's what really gets me.

[HKUser92]

@hanyoukimura Not sure what you're trying to get at. If that ground was too soft, they can't get in there. All that will happen is they'll get stuck also, and then you have to find a way to get them out.

[TEMPEWITNESS]

Why was that antique even flying?

[uzimodem]

@TEMPEWITNESS :why not?

[TEMPEWITNESS]

@uzimodem Well, it crashed and burned for one thing. lol.

[uzimodem]

@uzimodem Well, sometimes planes do that:-)

[mihappy]

What do you expect, the pilots were 70 years old, probably fell asleep on the takeoff roll. a sad waste of a beautiful plane

[thegoof529]

@mihappy It didnt Crash. He Landed it Perfectly. It caught fire in mid air.

[BNPpatriot]

you didn't bail anyone out it was the Soviets who defeated the NAZI's and won WW2..also it was us British who made the effort to first colonise and bring civilisation to North America..without us you yank colonial rebs would still be living in tee-pees and eating Buffalo shit..you have nothing to be proud about by living in a stolen land obtained by an illegal rebel war..if us British didn't have to fight 3,000 miles away across a vast ocean we would've kicked your reb asses into orbit.

[shueevon]

@BNPpatriot blah blah blah. Oh, remember the lend lease equipment we loaned you?? We want it back!!

Give the queen the high sign for me.

[DaytonaRoadster]

@BNPpatriot this is what racist britfags acutally believe...how many seats did the BNP win last election...oh right NONE!! Enjoy sucking Muslim cock!

[happyoutinthewoods]

@BNPpatriot

Learn how to spell. Then learn your history.

[TexasGunster]

@BNPpatriot if it wasent for the Nazis the RAF would not have won the war Brittain would have lost WW2 at the battle of Brittain

[Acodin144]

Realy funny, laught at this so much... It looks like US democracy. It did ring with liberty about WW2. Now it just felt and crashed on ground, like this plane. UP=FAIL

[JackassVideos17]

Wow this is even more upsetting condering that it can never be replaced

[kristikk92]

What a sad view :(

[st4ticblu3]

@kristikk92 agreed.

[EvilFingers]

What a shame, that B17 was produced back in 1944 (heard the story on the bomber through the local TV News Channel) which was one out 1000s of B17s that were mass produced in the US and Bombed the Hell out of Nazi Germany during WWII and now its just scrap metal.

[Shturbly]

World war 2 never happend nor did 911

[creccy]

@Shturbly so what happened to the 50 to 70 million dead just decided to dissapear????

[flyboy83297]

@Shturbly dude. get a life, and get off your mothers laptop...

[cybrotius]

Think it was a ME 262 that got it.

[xxciroxx1990]

Kurwa moje pole.

[gamereview123ful]

and this is sad considering only 3 or 4 are operational and 10 are like just in mueseums

[mateuszx20]

So there are still messerschmitts in the air?

[Shturbly]

Old pepole and retards should stay home and not try to fly around in there badly made little toys

[notagoodsitrep]

@Shturbly Trolls and children should stay off the computer and not to try to act like utter morons on their mothers' laptops.

[Derail07]

@notagoodsitrep - what's a laptop?

[the82spartans]

sad

[Hubiwaw90]

:(



[allafnomis]

Here we go, another youtube history expert. Might I suggest you be a little less dismissive of the 55000 plus 'old chaps' who made the ultimate sacrifice. Your lack of respect will not endear you to anybody.

[zmachine159]

@allafnomis

I do respect all men who served in ww2. Brits and Americans. I just dont respect assholes talking shit about things they have no clue about. And need remind them of the missions that Germans and Brits refused to do, and the ones Americans did.

[theawecabinet]

@zmachine159

All 'sides' of WW2 were funded by the same group of bankers who's MO is to provoke wars, then help countries pay for the costly war effort with loans at interest! War is a racket! (google prescott bush)

Who paid for Germany (collapsed economy) to become a war machine capable of taking on the world?

Banks PROFIT from DEATH and enslave nations with DEBT to them.

War also demoralizes nations, kills off all the heros and keeps us all squabbling and blind to the REAL enemy.

Wake up!

[Skippie1944]

@zmachine159 If you respect what we "Brits" did in WW2 then lay off talking shit about them!!

[BNPpatriot]

dumb yanks can't even fly a plane without crashing it.

[zmachine159]

@BNPpatriot

He didn't crash it you retard the pilot brought down a plane that was on fire. He made an emergency landing knowing he couldn't get to the airport safely, and he saved 7 lives. Unless you fly yourself, dont speculate on crashes. The fire brought the plane to a wreck not the pilots. And i'm guessing your not American so I have to ask, do you live in one of the countries we fucked up, or one of the ones we bailed out? Asshole

[Coolins335]

@zmachine159, BNP = British National Party, soft fascists of today

[zmachine159]

@BNPpatriot

Oh yeah and your welcome for bailing you out of two wars you couldn't win yourself. Your bankrupt shit country begged us to finish a war you guys couldn't win. These birds did the daylight bombing missions "your old chaps" couldn't do. So unless your here to morn the loss of this beautiful aircraft, STFU and go fight another war you can't win.

[mojojojo0]

@zmachine159 Do you realise the USA has never fought and won a war alone? NEVER. ONCE.

[gamereview123ful]

@mojojojo0 its called the united nations dumbass.. its a foundation in which one country can come to us and ask for help in the event of them being taken over. it happened in the gulf war.

[mojojojo0]

@gamereview123ful You're wrong. Most US "interventions" come with opposition from the UN. You can't name the Gulf War as a template example. Do that and I'll throw Grenada, Chile, Iran, Bay of Pigs, Cambodia, Argentina... the list is endless.

[zmachine159]

@mojojojo0

they sure as hell finished a bunch though. enough said.

[mojojojo0]

@zmachine159 They've actually finished more democratically-elected governments illegally than wars.

[thegoof529]

@BNPpatriot It didnt Crash. It caught Fire in mid-air. The pilot landed it safely and everyone escaped.

[Rvvone]

kurwa moje pole!!!

[vtlehti]

Rest in pieces, Liberty Belle.

You had a better life than most of your siblings, they're still in museums gathering dust. Lucky that no one got hurt in the crash.

Sad accident, really. :(

[bizbizmarite]

Ach Teufel uncle Hans remembered the good old war times and tried to fly his beloved bomber .... briefly... seniors....

[Shturbly]

I live in that field and i know a lot more about this kind of thing

[apatheticempathy]

2 hrs away from my house ... how very very sad for - ALL - future avaition buffs

[pipkoman]

[*]

[mgb8484]

Nothing a little elbow grease wouldn't cure. Give me a radiator car, I'll build you a car, or plane!!!

[kjpdude11]

i live within 5 minutes walking distance of this!!! thumbs up.

[HooperWest]

A sad day for Aviation.

[littlered295]

this is sooooooooo sad :(

[skyfallpurple]

even angels sometimes fall down ....

[hipcat13]

I remember the Belle landing at the Dekalb airport some years back, I had a talk w/the crew and I have to say what a bunch of great guys. I've been up in the 9 'o 9 and these planes are a sight to behold when they are in their element. I find it hard to believe that with modern technology nobody has retrofitted a fire supression system to these birds. Hopefully some lessons will be learned to save the few remaining airworthy warbirds from a fate like this. I feel that I just lost a friend.......

[bigman55434]

@RippedWookie #2 was feathered because that was probably the engine that caught fire right after takeoff. They shut it down prior to landing. What a loss. I hope they can at least save the engines and help keep the few other B-17's up in the air.

[Artteach1000]

My family and I were at Aurora Airport yesterday afternoon and walked through this very plane. We are very saddened to see what happened to it

[smallsnipe]

O MY GOSH!!!!! I have a model of this aircraft!this is soo sad!

[bftschannen]

It was not a crash, but a forced landing. Fire consumed it after. There is a big difference between the two in the eyes of pilots.

[RippedWookie]

It looks like #2 was feathered... I wonder why?

[patrickartm]

I was on this plane in the jump seats just last year..... I cried when i saw this on the news.

[sgtmyers88]

This is sickening! I got up close and personal with touring this plane last October. Its like we lost an old friend today.

[sirnotesy]

I've go pics of this one when it was out at Hillsboro.

[MnkyWaGun]

It was named the 'Liberty Bell'

[bigman55434]

@MnkyWaGun Correct spelling is Liberty Belle.

[chrisdodge65]

what was the nickname of this B-17?

[MnkyWaGun]

what a shame, that was a beautiful plane

[garbagewarrior]

90blakey and I went to school with the family that owns that land fuck head !

[garbagewarrior]

Hey 90 Blakey thats my home town and that's the road I lived so go fuck your self ass hole ! You don't even know where the fuck Oswego is !

[90Blakey]

@garbagewarrior i live in oswego so you can go f yourself. this was so sad :-( atleast everyone was ok

[nmcowboy1983]

This is so heartbreaking, must've looked like something right out of the movies. A big gorgeous flying fort coming into a cornfield. I bet some Old Vet could've had serious flashbacks being witness to this.

[garbagewarrior]

That was right in my back yard !!!!

[90Blakey]

@garbagewarrior it was in a corn feild...that someone owns :P it couldn't be in your backyard.