FAA bans owner of WWII planes from flying passengers after fatal October crash [View all]

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Omaha World Herald

By Steve Liewer

A nonprofit group that for years has brought historic World War II aircraft to Nebraska for public flights has lost its right to carry passengers after an investigation into a fatal crash in Connecticut last year revealed serious safety violations.

The decision by the Federal Aviation Administration revokes the permission the Massachusetts-based Collings Foundation had obtained to allow paying passengers aboard 10 aircraft it owns.

One of those planes, the B-17G bomber Nine O Nine, developed engine trouble, crash-landed and burned Oct. 2 shortly after taking off from Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. The pilot, co-pilot, and five passengers died in the crash. Six others survived, some with severe burns.

Collings had frequently brought the Nine O Nine and several other vintage aircraft to Eppley Airfield and other Nebraska airports on its nationwide Wings of Freedom tour, most recently in July 2019. For $15, visitors could get a close look at the planes, which also included a B-24 Liberator named Witchcraft, a P-51 Mustang named Toulouse Nuts and a P-40 Warhawk named Jaws.





Read more: https://www.omaha.com/news/military/faa-bans-owner-of-wwii-planes-from-flying-passengers-after/article_d609504d-29fc-558c-8885-a3d147c7ce0e.html

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I flew in that plane back in 2015: https://www.democraticunderground.com/10026991786