B-17: Liberty Belle is rare and irreplaceable
It is too soon to know what caused the B-17 Bomber to make an emergency landing and burn outside of Chicago in a corn field. Before Monday morning, the 'Liberty Belle' had been to Tulsa and was one of 12 still said to be flying.
It is a passionate group of aviation buffs that restore and fly vintage planes. Paul Mackey of Tulsa has three vintage aircrafts. He admits he loves to fly anything. He is a former career military fighter pilot and current commercial pilot. "It is always disappointing to lose an antique aircraft like that because they are very rare and they are impossible to replace. In my view, you have to balance that with just the art of aviation. If it sits in a hangar the rest of its life, is it really an aircraft anymore. It is certainly a piece of history," says Mackey.
The ‘Liberty Belle’ had been in Tulsa in September and would take veterans and the public in rides in the World War II vintage aircraft. Mackey admits aviation comes with a risk especially since the B-17 bombers were never expected to fly this long, some 66 years later and were considered disposable assets.
"There is a balance there between risking it all, for example the air frame in this case, and not letting people hear the sights and sounds of the previous wars. So, it is a loss and it can't be replaced but at the same time I would not hesitate to fly mine just to keep from losing it,” says Mackey.
The pilot of the 'Flying Fortress' reported a fire shortly after taking off yesterday morning. There were 7 people on the B-17 and all escaped. Investigators are looking into what happened.