Multiple dead after WWII B-17 plane crashes, erupts into flames at Bradley Airport – NBC News

A vintage World War II plane crashed shortly after takeoff, erupted into flames and killed people on board Wednesday at Bradley International Airport, just outside of Hartford, Connecticut, authorities said.

“There were fatalities,” State Police Commissioner James Rovella told reporters, while not specifying exactly how many were killed. “Victims are very difficult to identify, we don’t want to make a mistake.”

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The flight took off at 9:45 a.m. before reporting five minutes later that it was having difficulties, authorities said.

“We observed that the aircraft was not gaining altitude,” Connecticut Airport Authority Executive Director Kevin Dillon said.

The plane tried to return to the airport when it crashed at 9:54 a.m., officials said.

There were 13 people on board the Boeing B-17, two pilots, one attendant, and 10 passengers. Another person on the ground was injured when the plane slid off the runway and slammed into a building used to house the airport’s deicing equipment, officials said.

Hartford Hospital received six patients from the crash, three were initially listed in critical condition, two in moderate condition and one with just minor injuries, doctors there said.

“We have an active fire and rescue operation underway. The airport is closed. We will issue further updates as information becomes available,” according to a Bradley Airport statement.

The FAA said the craft was a Boeing B-17 and it went down at the end of Runway 6 and slid off.

Bradley, the second-largest airport in New England, was closed and the FAA put in a ground stop for all arriving flights. One runway was expected to reopen at 1:30 p.m.

Several flights headed for Bradley were diverted to T.F. Green International Airport outside of Providence, Rhode Island, officials said.

The International Association of Fire Fighters Local S15, the union representing nearby first responders, tweeted a picture of black smoke hovering over the airport with the message: “Our crews are operating at an aircraft crash at Bradley airport.”

The airport — in Windsor Locks, about 15 miles north of Hartford — is hosting a show of vintage World War II craft this week.

Many planes in the “Wings of Freedom” show are owned by Collings Foundation. Bradley Airport confirmed the B-17 that went down Wednesday is owned by that non-profit organization from Stow, Massachusetts.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with those who were on that flight and we will be forever grateful to the heroic efforts of the first responders at Bradley,” the foundation said in a statement.

“The Collings Foundation flight team is fully cooperating with officials to determine the cause of the crash of the B-17 Flying Fortress and will comment further when details become known.”

The B-17 was once dubbed the “Flying Fortress” and played a key role for Allied forces in Europe.

The crashed B-17 had been one of 18 still registered to fly in the United States, according to Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont.

“The tragedy that happened here may be a source of lessons for others that are still flying these B-17s,” Lamont said, adding that investigators have to look “at this plane and the potential causes very carefully.”