The sight of Bradley International Airport was devastating the morning of Oct. 2, 2019.
At 9:53 a.m., a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress was destroyed during an emergency landing that went awry. The forced touchdown was sparked by engine troubles the plane experienced before taking off that then continued into its flight above the airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut.
After plunging from the sky, the plane landed roughly 500 feet short of the runway, traveled over a grassy area and eventually slammed into a de-icing fluid storage tank as well as several vehicles at the airport. Skid marks were left in the dirt and on the runway.
The wreckage was widespread, with the impact of the collision leaving most of the aircraft’s cabin and cockpit in flames. Left scattered across the tarmac were a number of pieces of the 75-year-old vehicle: its right wing, its engine, its turret.
Most tragically,
