- By Talib Khan
- Thu, 03 Oct 2019 10:20 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
New York | Jagran News Desk: A World War 2 bomber airplane carrying 13 passengers and crew members was crashed on late Wednesday at the northeastern US state of Connecticut airport killing at least 7 people and leaving several others injured.
The aircraft Boeing B-17 was crashed at the Bradley International Airport while trying to land. The aircraft was deployed by the US Air Force against Germany and Japan, in World War 2.
As quoted by AFP, the officials said, the plane was carrying 10 passengers and 3 crew members and was operated by the Collins Foundation, who pay to experience vintage planes.
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James Rovella, a disaster emergency official as reported by AFP said, that “there had been fatalities but it was too early to say the exact numbers. Burn victims are very difficult to identify, and we don’t want to make any mistakes, adding that a maintenance officer working on the ground was also injured”.
The local media later quoted the officials saying that at least seven people were dead in the crash and nine others were severely injured, including three people that were working on the ground at that time.
Kevin Dillon, director of state’s airport authority as quoted by AFP said after 10 minutes of taking off at 9:45 am (GMT) the pilots radioed the control tower to say that they were experiencing problems.
"We could see they could not gain altitude. Upon touchdown, they obviously lost control, struck our de-icing facility here as well as a maintenance facility. It was not immediately clear what caused the crash", he told reporters.
A spokesman for Hartford Hospital, where the injured were taken told AFP the facility had received six patients, three of whom were critical.
Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal said the plane was one of only 18 B-17s left in the country, and that the crash might have implications for the flying of vintage aircraft.
"If there were defects or improper maintenance as a cause, it is a very strong red flashing light for others who are flying these planes," he said as quoted by AFP.
The airport was later reopened after closing for a few hours.
