Comment on historic aviation by the chief executive of the UK’s Light Aircraft Association
The return to the skies in mid- October of the Experimental Aircraft Association’s B-17G Flying Fortress Aluminum Overcast at WestTheld, Massachusetts, was of specific importance to warbird experience operators, as it marked the type’s comeback to passenger flights after the fatal accident on 2 October to the Collings Foundation’s B-17 Nine-O-Nine in Connecticut. Both the EAA and the Collings Foundation have for many years oThered passenger-carrying trips in a wide range of World War Two aircraft, from the fourengined B-17 and B-24 Liberator, through twin-engined B-25 Mitchells to singleengined fighters such as the P-40 Warhawk and P-51 Mustang.
The accident to Nine-O-Nine, which claimed the lives of two crew and five passengers, as well as injuring seven others, naturally made worldwide headlines and potentially brought into question the wider safety case regarding experience flights in vintage aircraft. The Collings B-17 was part of the foundation’s Wings of Freedom Tour, with five such aircraft visiting selected locations across the USA through the summer months. As might be ex…
