Collings B-17, 909, gone but not forgotten

On the morning of Wednesday, October 2nd, the Collings Foundation B-17, "909" crashed at Bradley International Airport, Windsor Locks, Connecticut while on a stop on the 2019 Wings of Freedom Tour. Seven died, seven injured including one on the ground.


Direct link to video on Youtube from Savannah66

909, I first met you in August 2010 when you came to the Monmouth Executive Airport with the  Collings Foundation Wings of Freedom Tour. I was awestruck to see you and your friends, the B-24 "Witchcraft" and the dual cockpit P-51 "Betty Jane". You represented living history. I know that you did not fly in World War II but you were restored to World War II configuration to honor all B-17's and their crew who served in World War II. Some of men who served on the B-17 made it home and some did not. After doing service in rescue operations, military transport and nuclear testing, you were purchased by Aircraft Specialty Company in 1965. You were then modified for service as an air tanker, flying wildfires until sometime in the 1980s. You saved a lot of lives on the ground as you flew fires in support of the wildland firefighters on the ground.

The Collings Foundation purchased you in 1986 and restored you to a configuration similar to that of B17 bombers that flew during World War II.

As you toured the United States over the years, you were and still are loved by many including but not limited to all who came to see you and perhaps take a ride in you. You were living history. Seeing you had a profound effect on me. I love you as well as the B-24 and the P-5 that I saw on tour. I knew that I had to write about B-17s on my blog. I spent several months reading about the B-17. I got to know many other B-17s and their crews through my research and I have met a couple of other B-17s but you were and still are special. I saw you for a second time a year or so later in New Jersey. I regret not going to see you again, that is my loss. You were at Monmouth Executive Airport this past August, if I had known . . .

I mourn the loss of all who died when 909 crashed in Windsor Locks on October 2, 2019.  My prayers are with their families, friends, and all who loved them. My prayers are with all at the Collings Foundation. I pray for all who were injured in that crash.

I offer this wholly inadequate post to honor you and all who died on October 2nd. Nine-o-Nine, I am not sure that my words are adequate to express what you meant to me. Nor are my words adequate to express my sadness for those who died on October 3rd. I know that you and your pilots and those who lost their lives are flying in favorable tail winds.

The pilot of the Collings B-25 who was also on tour at Windsor Locks gave a moving tribute before he took off from Windsor Locks this past weekend. Please see this short article and audio clip from Fox61.

For those who have not seen this, the Collings Foundation issued this statement on October 2nd. They are suspending the rest of their 2019 Wings of Freedom Tour.