CHICAGO - In a dramatic scene that could have played out in Europe during World War II, a restored B-17 Flying Fortress bomber made an emergency landing Monday in a west suburban cornfield after an engine caught fire.
Smelling smoke, the pilot skirted disaster by threading the plane between a 60-foot tower and a line of trees, witnesses said.
Seven crew members and volunteers escaped without serious injury as flames and a plume of thick black smoke soared into the clear blue sky from the wreckage of the Liberty Belle.
For aviation enthusiasts, the plane's loss was a blow because of its historical value and emotional impact, and also because it's so rare.
Of the 12,731 B-17s manufactured, about 50 remain, including wrecked planes that have been pulled out of the water, according to the Experimental Aircraft Association, based in Oshkosh, Wis.
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Only about 13 of the B-17s not in use are intact and could be overhauled to become airworthy. A total of eight fly in the U.S., and three of them carry passengers, the association said.
The workhorse planes that once dropped bombs over Germany hold a strong appeal for men like Mike Kellner, who has been restoring a B-17 in his barn near Marengo since 1995.
"The bomber was a symbol of freedom and might when we really needed it," Kellner said. "We might not have won the war without that airplane."
Kellner worked on the plane that crashed Monday.
The Liberty Belle was at Aurora Municipal Airport this weekend, with crews offering flights to World War II veterans and others looking for a thrill-seeking history lesson.
On Monday, the plane took off from the Aurora airport at 9:30 a.m. on its way to Indianapolis Regional Airport, but was forced to make an emergency landing in the field near Oswego, just a few miles away, shortly after takeoff. The pilot had reported an engine fire, authorities said.
Witnesses described seeing the bomber flying low before it landed. An engine on the left wing - the one farthest from the cockpit - was on fire, they said.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating. Federal officials said they did not know the cause but were looking into maintenance performed on the plane over the weekend.
Several people scheduled to fly in the bomber last week said their flights were canceled because of maintenance problems.
Vintage military planes like the Liberty Belle are a top draw at air shows, second only to modern aerial performers like the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds, said Paul Wood, founder of the Warbird Heritage Foundation in Waukegan.
