AirshowStuff Forums

To say it's been devastating news to receive would be an understatement. I missed their annual visit to the Pacific Northwest this summer and now I really feel the guilt. The organization and that warbird in particular have been the direct inspiration for me to get into the world of aviation when I first saw them at my local airport nearly two decades ago.

While it breaks my heart that Nine-O-Nine will no longer serve as an ambassador to aviation and history, I am pleased that so many have had their lives positively impacted by its touring. It has been the most personally significant airplane I've ever known and will be deeply, deeply missed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZdiPGSE1BY

I just found out about the crash, and it really makes me sad because this was the first B-17 I have been inside of. I still have pics of me on the waist gun and by the nose when I was little. Like I said, this is very sad news that I was not expecting.

The tanks near the crash site were supposedly holding deicing fluid and not fuel. The latest reports state that the aircraft was carrying 10 passengers and 3 crew members - at least 5 casualties and 9 injuries including 1 person on the ground. Prayers to all involved, it's a sad day for aviation.

Sad to have woken up and read the news of Nine-O-Nine's accident this morning. Thoughts and prayers are with all those effected. The 9-0-9 was one of my favorite birds flying, and the crew and all involved were a class act. Missed their entire visit to Chicago this year, and I too feel some regret. My good friend commented to me today "Hug your warbirds close, you may never see them again."

Latest reports are five dead, nine injured including one injury on the ground. I am seeing posts in aviation circles that confirm at least one death.

https://airshowstuff.com/v4/2019/fatali ... nnecticut/

jacobchgo9 wrote: ↑Wed Oct 02, 2019 9:53 pm"Hug your warbirds close, you may never see them again."

This exact line was running through my head this afternoon. It is sobering to realize what we take for granted some times and how quickly it can vanish - both with planes and with people.

Up to seven dead now.

The names of the dead have been released

Ernest McCauley, 75 - Pilot, from Long Beach, CA
Michael Foster, 71 - Co-Pilot, from Jacksonville, FL
David Broderick, 56 - passenger from West Springfield, MA
Gary Mazzone, 66, - passenger from Broad Brook, CT
James Roberts, 48 - passenger from Ludlow, MA
Robert Riddell, 59 - passenger from East Granby, CT
Robert Rubner, 64 - passenger from Tolland, CT

The NTSB also released this video of the wreckage and investigators at work analyzing it. Hard to watch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VO8HdzYa6f4

This still just doesn't seem real...like a bad nightmare or something. In the first or second week of August, this tour was here in Dayton the week after Thunder Over Michigan for one of their stops and that was the first and now the only time I was able to see Nine O Nine. One of the reasons I was so glad that they stopped here was I was excited to see Witchcraft, a flying B-24, for the first time in a long time. I remember being so focused on that thinking that I would be much more likely to see Nine O Nine many times in the future, but seeing a flying B-24, that was so rare for me. Man was I wrong. Knowing that I just saw that aircraft and the crew not even 2 months ago and now they are gone is what is so eerie or surreal to me.

Taken in 2016..909 the B-17 that tragically crashed recently..glad I was able to see it in better times

Here's something heartbreaking and a little touching. If you haven't heard of VASaviation, they upload captioned videos of real ATC audio from airports. The videos usually involve near misses and arguements, but occasionally they will get the ATC from an airport during a crash. They previously did videos for the Geico Skytypers crash at Long Island and the AT-6 crash in LA to name a couple. These two are difficult to listen to, especially the second one. Anyway, if you haven't heard of them, their channel is worth following.

Bradley Ground/Tower after crash:
https://youtu.be/dU2XXGI_Ke0

B-25 Departure:
https://youtu.be/9g5TTGTuATA