at least 7 dead in bomber accident in World War II

AFP, published on Thursday 03 October 2019 at 07:36

A World War II bomber with 13 people on board crashed Wednesday at a Connecticut airport in the northeastern United States, an accident that killed at least seven people, according to officials quoted by the media local.

The bomber, a B-17, crashed just before 10:00 am (1400 GMT) at Bradley International Airport, when he requested an emergency landing due to a technical problem, less 10 minutes after takeoff, airport director Kevin Dillon explained at a press briefing.

The plane, operated by the Collings Foundation, regularly boarding the public to fly in old cuckoos, was carrying 13 people, ten passengers and three crew members, said James Rovella, Connecticut's chief of public safety.

"I can confirm that there are deaths, which I will not tell you the number," he said at a press point posted by the authorities. "It is much too early to talk about it, we have an accident, fire and victims very difficult to identify, we do not want to make mistakes".

He pointed out that all the people on board had been injured at least, as well as a person who was in an airport maintenance building that the bomber struck while touching the ground, before it went up in flames.

Later, several local media, quoting officials, said the accident, which generated a lot of black smoke visible for miles around, had left at least seven people dead, and a total of nine wounded, including three people who were on the ground at the time of the accident.

When asked, a spokesman for the Connecticut police did not deny this figure.

For the moment, the causes of the accident were unknown.

In an excerpt of conversation between the pilot and the control tower of the airport, put online by some media, we hear the pilot asking, shortly after takeoff, to be able to land urgently because of an engine problem .

At the press conference, Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal pointed out that there were only a total of 18 B-17 bombers – called "flying fortresses" and more than 10,000 copies of them – which were flying still in the United States.

"The tragedy that took place here could be a source of lessons for all those who still fly these devices," said the senator.

"These are vintage planes that need to be properly maintained, and if it turns out that defects or faulty maintenance caused the accident."

A team of investigators from the National Transportation Safety Agency (NTSB) arrived on site Wednesday afternoon, and immediately began to examine the crash site, calling on the public to send photos of all stages of the flight that could help find the cause.

One of the team's leaders said the investigators would be quick to determine what inspections were being made for these old devices, and if safety recommendations were urgently needed.