In-Flight Fire – Maybe in the Rear Engine You Can’t See

[edasmus]

I watched the B17 Liberty Bell depart runway 9 this morning at the Aurora Airport as I was pulling my Skymaster from my hanger preparing for a flight. Right behind the bomber on takeoff was a yellow T-6 (I'm fairly certain it was a T-6) chase plane. All looked well at that point. About 10-15 minutes later my friend and I departed in my Skymaster and turned southeast toward the JOT VOR and immediately could see the black smoke plume 5 to 6 miles southeast of the Aurora airport. We flew by the burning B17 about 3000 feet above it with the chase plane orbiting the landing sight. From our vantage point we could tell the crew had clearly made a successful controlled landing into the wind on the chosen field. Whatever was going wrong, was going wrong quickly. They must have had precious little time to get the airplane down safely. Very sad but kudos to the flight crew for their skill and judgement for getting everyone down and out quickly and safely.

Ed