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B-17 Liberty Belle CRASHED!

You know, when you watch the media report on most anything aviation related, at least here in the U.S., you almost can be certain that you will find error after error in what they are saying. It raises the question, how much more accurate, or skewed, is their reporting on anything else these days? My local news reported on the incident as well on Monday, and while showing video they spoke about it for 10-15 seconds, but at the end of it, you quickly realize they didn't say anything at all.

If the media had simply heard "emergency landing" in reference to the incident, all along, I wonder if they even would have bothered trying to cover it?
 
Daveroo said:
as far as news coverage..my local news...sacramento..they gave it about 10 seconds...said a B17,the memphis belle ( yes its what they called it)crashed and burned today in iowa ( yup thats what they said) and he added that it seems to be pilot error as they were doing aerobatics at the time....i was pretty upset when i heard thati called the station and was told i was like the 50th call already to correct them..but they never mentioned it again......jerks
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I often sit at lunch watching the local news. I'm not really sure why. I've taken the time to count the number of grammatical errors, unintelligent reports and general stupidity put forth by the local news reporters. The numbers are astounding. Mind you, this is Philly news, which is a big market and therefore can afford to hire people that can read, write and speak the english language. It makes me wonder what the truth is.
 
Daveroo said:
as far as news coverage..my local news...sacramento..they gave it about 10 seconds...said a B17,the memphis belle ( yes its what they called it)crashed and burned today in iowa ( yup thats what they said) and he added that it seems to be pilot error as they were doing aerobatics at the time....i was pretty upset when i heard thati called the station and was told i was like the 50th call already to correct them..but they never mentioned it again......jerks
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That makes me sick....Almost sick as this..... I am trying to finds sense in our government these days....THIS is NOT HELPING!!!!!


From the official NTSB website... Words like "crash" & "impact" are very intriquing...as neither happened!

National Transportation Safety Board
Office of Public Affairs
Press Advisory
[h=3]NTSB INVESTIGATING CRASH OF WORLD WAR II-VINTAGE B-17[/h]June 13, 2011
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating today’s crash of a B-17 (N390TH) vintage airplane. The crash occurred approximately 3-4 miles southeast of the Aurora Municipal Airport near Oswego, Illinois. It has been reported that there was an in-flight fire prior to impact. There were 7 persons on board. No injuries have been reported at this time.
NTSB investigator Tim Sorenson will be the Investigator-in- Charge and is en route to the accident scene. More information regarding the investigation will be released when it becomes available.
NTSB Media Contact:
Keith Holloway (202) 314-6100
hollowk@ntsb.gov
 
This was posted by Rod Schneider on another forum, and I thought it might be worth posting here as well. He happened to be riding back-seat in the AT-6 that was following Liberty Belle when the incident happend:

"John Hess and Bud Sittig (right seat) are true heroes!! I was in the back seat of the T-6 that was following Liberty Belle Monday morning and witnessed some of the finest flying I've ever seen. They made a perfect landing under very stressful conditions and oversaw an orderly evacuation of the plane. We circled overhead to help the fire crews pinpoint the location, only to see the lead truck get stuck on a narrow road that led near the plane. It was heartbreaking to see that nothing could be done to quickly fight the fire, but it was not for lack of trying. The most important thing is that seven folks are around today to talk about it. Thank you, Captains Hess and Sittig!"

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?p=550989#post550989
 
A lot of crap get said when things like this happen... I'd like to share my two fav. comments from Wix.... The first is from somebody from Tulsa, & the second is from Chuck Giese whom works down in GA for Don Brooks.... I think both comments speak volumes from the outsiders view point, and for those of us with personal interest in the plane....


Chuck,

How is the Brooks team doing? I know that we have all been thinking of you, and hoping for the best. It must be hard to see her in the state she is in, given all that you and the team have done to make her the reliable touring aircraft that she has been for the last several years. Scott Maher, a local guy for us Tulsans, always made sure to bring her to town at least once or twice a year. The last time she was here, I took my 3 year old twins out to see her. It wasn't their first time. They call her "the big airplane with the little door." My girls climbed in and out of the aft fuselage over and over, and your guys just smiled and tolerated a couple of ornery little girls. They even invited them to climb to the front to see the cockpit. The girls were in love. That airplane, whether it lives again or not, touched a lot of us in different ways. For my girls, it was the first B-17 they ever saw, the first warbird they ever climbed in, and the first group of warbird operators they encountered. The folks there could have yelled at them, told them to get away, to not touch. Instead, they invited them in. The Liberty Belle team was centered around an aircraft, but is made up of a bunch of hardworking, NICE people who did a great deal to share the story of WWII with the next generation- my girls included. I hope that the team Don assembled doesn't see this as a defeat, but just the end of the first chapter in what I hope will be a long story of their group's efforts to bring history to life.

Good luck, and please let us know as the team goes through its process what Don's plans are. No need to rush, but we will be waiting with baited breath!

kevin



------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kevin,

I've been on the road for a few days, most of my contact with the others have been quick phone calls or text msg updates. I think it's safe to say that we are all dealing with the loss in our own ways, I've spun through several stages of grief, and will continue to do so for a while. She was a good ship, and I'll miss her.

The trip has given me a lot of time to think about why we do this (and if we should do this), I'll post some thoughts when I get out the other side. I'm still a little raw right now.

Chuck
 
Wittpilot said:
That makes me sick....Almost sick as this..... I am trying to finds sense in our government these days....THIS is NOT HELPING!!!!!
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Witt, you can call off that search. There is no sense in our government.
Keep in mind that press release was from the day of the crash and probably composed by some underling who didn't yet know what actually happened. Seems to me the actual circumstances of the incident and the details of the landing are pretty much cut and dried, except for the cause of the fire.
 
Well, I think that last news story pretty much seals the deal for me about the media.... They have had almost a week to get their sh*t together and still can pull the right story together.... Utterly pathetic.....

I mean absolutely no disrespect to Mr. Sittig, but John was PIC.... Ultimately at that time it is his airplane. The article states Sittig was the pilot, John the co-pilot... I doubt Bud told the what they said. O


Oh, BTW, apparently we lost several B-17's this week as there are only 3 left now!!!!!

:angryfir:
 
TARPSBird said:
Witt, you can call off that search. There is no sense in our government.
Keep in mind that press release was from the day of the crash and probably composed by some underling who didn't yet know what actually happened. Seems to me the actual circumstances of the incident and the details of the landing are pretty much cut and dried, except for the cause of the fire.
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Er, "day of the crash?" It seems ironic that in a discussion about the missapplication of that very word it continues to be abused...

I thought we'd pretty much established that it was a successful emergency landing, which was unfortunately followed closely by an uncontrollable fire.

ABC had a segment on Good Morning America this morning, including an interview with the pilot. They also showed another B-17 being privately restored, but I've already forgotten the gentleman's name. Damn this old age anyway!
 
I thought the same thing Witt.. I figured there was at least somewhere around 11 flying B-17's of different blocks left flying? Either way you cannot count on the main stream media to report anything correctly...
 
n4gix said:
Er, "day of the crash?" It seems ironic that in a discussion about the missapplication of that very word it continues to be abused...

I thought we'd pretty much established that it was a successful emergency landing, which was unfortunately followed closely by an uncontrollable fire.

ABC had a segment on Good Morning America this morning, including an interview with the pilot. They also showed another B-17 being privately restored, but I've already forgotten the gentleman's name. Damn this old age anyway!
Click to expand...


Sorry, that was kind of funny looking back.... I guess when you read it every 5 seconds for a week it just plants in your head.....

That makes me look pretty damn stupid though.......
 
Wittpilot said:
Sorry, that was kind of funny looking back.... I guess when you read it every 5 seconds for a week it just plants in your head.....

That makes me look pretty damn stupid though.......
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Oh! No, that quoted phrase "day of the crash" was what TARPSBird wrote, not you! :bump:
 
LOL...OH Okay... I was reading on my iPhone and just figured I had wrote that... I must admit, I have caught myself saying it to people. So I am guilty as well. I think we will here some more news early this week about our intentions on moving forward. I will post it as soon as I see it.......That is if Bomber doesn't get to it before I do!!!!!

-witt
 
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