Just hope we do not have to wait a year or more for the report!! Ughh
Often wondered about other crashes from the past & never heard the results.
All of us folks want to know NOW! (or next week)
It usually takes around 18 months for a final report; it’s been that way for decades. It takes a while for an investigation to generate questions, and for those questions to be answered.
Good editorial.
The question of when to stop flying these increasingly rare machines is a difficult one to answer. There were over 12,700 B-17s built. Reports vary, but somewhere between 9 and 17 are still in flying condition. In the case of the 17, there are many more on static display, so it may make sense to keep the airworthy ones flying. But, at some point, they become so rare that exposing them to flight may be too risky. The Commemorative Air Force lost one of only 2 or 3 flying B-26 Marauders some years ago. With so few remaining even in museums, the truly rare ones deserve to be grounded for posterity sake.
The loss of 909 is tragic, both from the loss of the airframe and the souls on board that perished. My prayers go out to the families as well as the “family” that kept 909 flying.
Maybe he was busy.
A quarter of all deaths in RAF bomber command during the Second World War were training accidents. Heavy bombers of the time were, and are not, easy to fly. It is something today’s pilots and passengers should remember.
I’m reading that the pilot had the most hours in a Boeing B-17 of anyone. Not just currently, but ever.
As the Collings Foundation B-25 got ready to depart BDL, they had a few words of thanks and remembrance for Nine O Nine. Links aren’t allowed in posts, so go to YouTube and search on “9g5TTGTuATA”. It’s the VASA Aviation link. It’s quite touching.
Whether we like it or not insurance companies will probably have the final say if these flights continue or not. Many years ago I paid for and got a right seat ride in a B-25 and enjoyed every second of it. Not long after the owner stopped giving passenger rides due to lack of affordable insurance coverage. It would be a real shame if these kind of flights were stopped/banned. Maybe a solution is a waiver similar to what skydivers sign to be able to jump at most drop zones. May those who lost their lives on that flight RIP.
T-29s out of Buckley ? Now you’re showing your age ! Was that with the Guard there ? I used to fly helos from the other side of the field there in the late eighties and early nineties and even that feels like a thousand years ago.
“… the late eighties and early nineties and even that feels like a thousand years ago.”
Geezus! I got my instrument rating there in 1972 (flying an ADF approach to the old Stapleton) … I guess that makes me a card carrying registered fossil !! 
These planes are"self supported" because parts are not available.
That means that parts are being made up and patched and installed and maintained on a tight budget.
You have a very large, complex, ancient, self-repaired aircraft being filled up with hundreds of gallons of AvGas; and then flying paying passengers. It’s high-risk no matter how you slice it.
These old warbirds teach us of a time young men went to war to save freedom. They flew them with terrible losses, unimaginable courage, and dedication. The younger generations do not comprehend the sacrifices required to permit them to live as they wish. This history is now taught in a sanitized manner for various reasons. I live near an airport and each year the warbirds fly into it. The sound they make and their sight flying over my house can never be forgotten. We need to learn to balance safety, with resource management, and maintenance to keep these warbirds in public view. We cannot forsake their history and their brave crews.
I suspect the crew did suffer, as they reported, a rough mag. No reason not to believe them, they are professionals. Then continued along the downwind to return. That rough mag may have then worsened so they decided to shut down the engine and feather the prop. By then they may have progressed very far down the downwind. But, they may have shut down the wrong engine. Now they’re really slow and adding rudder and it’s accompanying drag, too busy to speak to the tower. Maybe the loss ot two engines caused them to set down short. This is clearly speculation on my part
I was just down the street at an arcade in front of Sacramento Executive airport when this happened. We rode our bikes down and saw just carnage and the tail of an F-86 sticking out from the ice cream parlor. We stayed a short while as fire trucks were still rolling up and did not want to get in the way. The F-86 pilot got impatient and accepted a runway too short for his bird. He was killed flying a F-86 a few years later.
Just watched an update on this mishap. This was all on the pilot in Command. He elected to not do a Mag check which would have shown that #3 had bad Mag. Pilots problem was he knew #4 had a bad Mag. So he skips a Mag check, prop check and power check. Wow. That is confirmed by survivors and the plane was not on the ground long enough prior to T/O. Then pilot immediately feathers #4 without confirming with right seat pilot. Then cylinder #5 on engine #3 grenades itself because a Mag failed and the manual says to not run on one Mag for more than 5 seconds. It is very possible that #4 engine was still producing power, but because he thought that a Mag on #4 was bad that it was #4 engine that needed to be feathered.
Morale to the story? Do your checks before takeoff. Replace Mags when they are bad. Use your co-pilot in confirming emergencies/handle the radios. Keep the gear up until field is made. This very experienced B-17 pilot broke every rule in aviation and took 6 others with him. Sad for evryone.
While I have no idea why Tom did not recover at the onset, this is a powerful reminder for those flying low & slow to be current and sharp on their stall recognition and recovery skills.
Reacting a little better better or slightly sooner can save your life in this regime. Even a docile and tame bird like a Cessna single can snap into a spin on you in the right (wrong?) circumstances.
Not to be judgemental or a Monday morning quarterback, but what was the age of the pilot? I have seen far too many times in safety meetings the average ages of the others, and it’s a quite up there. I am almost 60, and I know my reaction times are not what they used to be. Being in denial about ones skills and abilities isn’t a thing to mess with. Especially in an aircraft.
I agree, I’m not able to do snap spins on a unicycle off a jump, or see just how much I can push my motorcycle to the edge on and off road… but with age should come the common sense that this really doesn’t need to be done. At over 50 I don’t need to prove I can jump a 50ft ramp in order to impress a girl in the fleeting hope I might get laid.
I did notice this about younger pilots I’ve flown with… They wanted to push the aircrafts abilities to the edge. With their quick reflexes, they get out of trouble… most of the time. I noticed the older pilots I flew with were more reserved in their flying, slower yes, but more deliberate, with far greater decision skills than the younger pilots. The older pilots knew not to put themselves in a bad position where their superior skills were required to get them out of a bad situation.
There does appear to be a time when some pilots in their middle age seem to think it is time to impress again, and this is where even quick reflexes will not save you.
Would a young pilot be doing this STOL competition? probably not, unless they have rich parents that gave the kid a plane to screw around with… in my life time those kids I grew up with that were given the super car or plane… didn’t make it to 50. That is right, they are all dead now and unable to slow down.
So, maybe it isn’t the slowing down with age… maybe it is realizing, I don’t need to climb that ladder and get myself killed. I know of many good pilots over 70. They seem reserved in their actions. Probably why they made it to 70. These are the pilots I watch. I want to make it to 80, because I’ve seen so many that didn’t.
Many 60 year olds are PICs at the airlines. It doesn’t matter whether you are 20 or 80. You don’t fly any airplane on the edge without greatly increasing risk, even a Cessna 140 or Aeronca 7AC.