A World War II vintage B-17 bomber “Liberty Belle” made and emergency crash landing in a cornfield in Oswego Monday after taking off from Aurora Airport in Sugar Grove about 9:30 a.m. All seven on board escaped after the famous aircraft — similar to the star airplane of the movie “Memphis Belle” — went down about 5 miles from Aurora Airport, near Route 71 and Minkler Road.
Shortly after takeoff the pilot reported a fire on board the aircraft.
The Daily Herald featured the aircraft, covering its appearance at the Aurora Municipal Airport over the weekend (See Daily Herald Veterans mark D-Day at Aurora Airport)
B-17 VIDEO: File video of a similar B-17 aircraft at Chicago Executive Airport.
See also …
libertyfoundation.org
your takeoff landing video is a different plane
Yes, Ken … I think you missed the caption “B-17 VIDEO: File video of a SIMILAR B-17 aircraft at Chicago Executive Airport.” And I believe it is the B-17 Flying Fortress ‘Nine-O-Nine’ … different paint job, too … Army green vs. silver. Anyway, sad to see any of these destroyed. See also B-17 Flying Fortress Flies Overhead …
The B-17 in the video is the 909. FAQ: This aircraft crashed at the Beaver County airport in PA. in 1987. It was restored by the members at Air Heritage Museum. It flying is a testament to the love of the aviation community to restoring and maintaining these fine Aircraft. The loss of the Liberty Belle is a big blow to those maintaining and flying these magnificent machines and aviation in general.