New York: Seven people are dead and eight others injured after a vintage plane crashed Wednesday at Bradley International Airport. A Second World War-era plane has crashed at an airport in Connecticut.
The Federal Aviation Administration has identified the aircraft as a “vintage Boeing B-17”, and said in a statement that the plane was attempting to land when the crash occurred. Later reports indicate the plane crashed into a deicing facility at the airport.
“A vintage Boeing B-17 crashed at the end of Runway 6 while attempting to land at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, at 10 am,” a statement from that agency said. “It is a civilian registered aircraft, not flown by the military.”
Bradley International Airport, which is near Hartford, said that the airport has been closed.
“We can confirm that there was an accident involving a Collings Foundation World War II aircraft this morning at Bradley Airport,” a tweet from the aircraft says. “We have an active fire and rescue operation underway. The airport is closed. We will issue further updates as information becomes available.”
The National Transportation Safety Board will be on the scene in Connecticut to investigate the crash over the next week, NTSB board member Jennifer Homendy said at a news conference.
According to the Aviation Geek Club blog, the aircraft was built in Long Beach, California, by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was accepted into service on April 7, 1945 — too late for combat though, the plan was used for air-sea rescues.
