B-17 Nine-O-Nine Tragedy Stuns Aviation Community

October 3, 2019 - EAA has sent its condolences and offers of support to our friends at the Collings Foundation following Wednesday's tragic accident that resulted in several casualties and destroyed the World War II-era B-17 Nine-O-Nine in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. The airplane was attempting to return to the airport shortly after takeoff when it was unable to land safely on the runway and hit a maintenance building.

The NTSB and FAA are investigating the cause of the accident, which closed Bradley International Airport at Windsor Locks for more than six hours on Wednesday.

EAA's B-17 Aluminum Overcast is scheduled to be at Hyannis, Massachusetts, this weekend, and the airplane is expected to arrive there for ground tours on Friday. Out of respect for our colleagues at the Collings Foundation and the tragic B-17 accident on Wednesday, EAA's B-17 tour will pause from passenger flights this weekend.

To honor our commitment to the EAA chapter that has planned our arrival there this weekend, we will have our B-17 on display for ground tours, enabling us to tell the story of the heroic crews that flew these airplanes 75 years ago to preserve the freedoms we enjoy today.

We apologize for any inconvenience, but ask that we take a moment not only to remember those who flew the airplane in wartime, but those groups dedicated to preserving this living history and bringing it to people throughout our nation today.