October 24, 2019
Volume 49 - No. 43
By lyle e davis
The tragic crash of the B17G at Hartford, Connecticut’s Bradley International Airport on Wednesday, October 2nd, hit us hard. In the gut. Both I and Evelyn Madison had flown as passengers on that same plane. It was known as “Nine-ONine,” and was a highly popular feature of the Wings of Freedom Tour of the nation, sponsored by the Collings Foundation. We have worked with the Collings Foundationn for a number of years and admire all of them greatly.
They are a first class organization with a large number of volunteers who work to restore vintage aircraft and give the public a chance to see the warbirds that helped us win World War II and, in some cases, to actually ride along to experience the thrill and sense of adventure you would expect from such a storied aircraft. Evelyn and I flew on board the “Nine-0-Nine” from the Ramona, CA., airport to the John Wayne Airport in Orange County, and deplaned at the Lyon Air Museum based at that airport.
It was a wonderful experience and we gained some feeling of what our airmen experienced during World War II. We learned how cramped the aircraft is . . . we learned that to move from the passenger/cargo area of the aircraft to the flight deck you had to squeeze between bomb racks on each side of the aircraft’s interior. If we wanted to get to the plexiglass nose of the aircraft we had to crawl like caterpillars to get there but once we arrived the view was fantastic! We learned to love the constant thrum of the four The Paper - 760.747.7119
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great engines of the aircraft as it flew steadily over the countryside . . . at a low level, the better for us to take in and enjoy the country side.
We managed to explore the machine gun positions and sight down gunsights to take aim on any potential enemy trucks, tanks, or troop movements. We were, of course, very brave and eager to see aerial and ground combat - but, this was peacetime so we did not have to take out any ene-
mies. Lucky for them. Evelyn Madison is a dead shot with a machine gun. It was truly the experience of a lifetime, one we will treasure forever.
Naturally, we felt horror at the though of this magnificent aircraft going down and of the crew and passengers that perished. What went wrong?
We don’t know yet. The NTSB,
B-17 “Nine-O-Nine” - See Page 2
(National Transportation Safety Board) is continuing its investigation and the Collings Foundation is cooperating in every way possible. What we know thus far is this:
The Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress, operated by The Collings Foundation, crashed with 13 people aboard, killing seven, as it tried to return to the airport after reports of engine trouble following takeoff at 9:47 a.m. After three