World War II-era bomber crashes; at least 5 reported dead
Windsor Locks (US): A World War II-era B-17 bomber carrying 13 people crashed and burned at the Hartford airport in an aborted takeoff attempt Wednesday, and a state official said at least five people were killed.
The four-engine, propeller-driven plane struggled to get into the air and slammed into a maintenance shed at Bradley International Airport as the pilots circled back for a landing, officials and witnesses said.
It had 10 passengers and three crew members, authorities said. The state official who gave the death toll was not authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Connecticut Public Safety Commissioner James Rovella said hours after the crash that some of those on board suffered severe burns and the victims are very difficult to identify.
The retired, civilian-registered plane was associated with the Collings Foundation, an educational group that brought its Wings of Freedom vintage aircraft display to the airport this week, officials said.
Right now my heart really goes out to the families who are waiting, Gov. Ned Lamont said. And we are going to give them the best information we can as soon as we can in an honest way.
The National Transportation Safety Board sent a team to investigate the cause of the crash.
The plane was a few minutes into the flight when pilots reported a problem and said it was not gaining altitude, officials said. It lost control upon touching down and struck the shed just before 10 a.m.
One person on the ground was injured, officials said. The airport -- New England's second-busiest -- was closed after the crash but reopened a single runway about 3 hours later.
Flight records from FlightAware shows the plane went down about five minutes after it took off. The data shows it had traveled about 8 miles (13 kilometers) and reached an altitude of 800 feet (244 meters).
Brian Hamer, of Norton, Massachusetts, said he was less than a mile away when he saw a B-17, which you don't normally see, fly directly overhead, apparently trying to gain altitude but not succeeding.
One of the engines began to sputter, and smoke came out the back, Hamer said. The plane made a wide turn and headed back toward the airport, he said. Then we heard all the rumbling and the thunder, and all the smoke comes up and we kind of figured it wasn't good, Hamer said.
Antonio Arreguin said he had parked at a construction site near the airport for breakfast when he heard an explosion. He said he did not see the plane but could feel the heat from the flames, about 250 yards away.
I see this big ball of orange fire, and I knew something happened, he said.
Only a few of the roaring Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses are still airworthy. The planes, 74 feet (23 metre) long with a wingspan of 104 feet (32 metre), were used in daylight strategic bombing raids against Germany during World War II -- extremely risky missions that helped break the Nazis' industrial war machine.
The Collings Foundation said the same plane in Wednesday's accident also crashed in 1987 at an air show near Pittsburgh, injuring several people. Hit by a severe crosswind as it touched down, the bomber overshot a runway and plunged down a hillside. It was later repaired.
The B-17 was built in 1945, too late for combat in World War II, according to the foundation.
It served in a rescue squadron and a military air transport service before being subjected to the effects of three nuclear explosions during testing, the foundation said. It was later sold as scrap and eventually was restored. The foundation bought it in 1986.
This is kind of shocking. It's a loss to lose a B-17, said Hamer, whose father served in the Air Force. I mean, there aren't very many of those left.
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Two Delhi men held for BMTC bus phone thefts in Bengaluru
Bengaluru: Whitefield police have arrested two men from Delhi for allegedly stealing mobile phones from passengers travelling in Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) buses and solved 14 theft cases, officials said on Tuesday.
The arrested accused have been identified as Jai Chand (25), who worked at a hotel in Delhi, and Tarun (34), an autorickshaw driver in Delhi.
Officials said on January 24, a Mahadevapura resident lodged a complaint that his iPhone 15 Plus was stolen while he was travelling on a BMTC bus towards Whitefield.
Based on the complaint, police registered a case and arrested two suspects within an hour near a lodge on Hosa Road. During the arrest, the police found a bag containing several stolen mobile phones.
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“During interrogation, the suspects confessed that they were stealing mobile phones from passengers travelling in BMTC buses. They had also committed thefts during a concert held under the Channarayapatna police station limits on January 23,” the police said.
Investigations revealed that the accused had travelled from Delhi for the concert and stolen mobile phones from the audience. A third suspect is at large and is likely hiding in the Shahdara area of Delhi.
One of the victims, a YouTuber, raised the theft issue in February in a post on X.
“Here is my (FIR No 0013/2026 is registered in Channarayapatana PS. Your GSC No. is PO1814260100013) request @DelhiPolice @BlrCityPolice to plz look into this & get my device back since it's my work phone & I am a youtuber, all my data is there! someone plz help. @dcpwhitefield,” Anirban Sarkar posted on X on February 6.
Police have recovered 14 mobile phones of various brands, collectively valued at about Rs 9 lakh, from the accused. The two were produced before the court and remanded in judicial custody.
In total, one case from Whitefield and 13 from Channarayapatna police stations were detected. Further investigation is underway.
