Owner of crashed WWII plane can no longer fly passengers, didn’t take safety seriously

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    WINDSOR LOCKS, CT (WFSB) — The group that owns a WWII bomber that crashed in Windsor Locks last fall can no longer fly passengers.

The Federal Aviation Administration released a safety decision on Wednesday in which it said the Collings Foundation did not follow rules it agreed to in order to fly the historic plane with passengers aboard.

The B-17G crashed shortly after takeoff on Oct. 2, 2019. Seven people were killed. Several others were hurt.

Investigators found that the plane developed engine trouble. Two of the aircraft’s four engines had problems.

Also detailed by the safety decision was a training issue with the flight’s crew chief.

“While Collings produced some training records for maintenance personnel and pilots, the evidence indicates that Collings did not train the crew chief who was onboard the B-17G that was involved in the accident on Oct. 2, 2019,” the report revealed. ” In an interview with the FAA on March 2, 2020, the crew chief verified that he received no initial training and was unaware of basic information concerning operations under the exemption. Instead, he only received on-the-job training.”

Maintenance issues and other problems were also noted, which lead the FAA to state that the foundation did not take safety seriously enough.

As a result, the FAA revoked The Collings Foundation’s permission to fly paying customers:

In consideration of the foregoing, I find that a grant of exemption is not in the public interest because it would adversely affect the safety of Collings Foundation’s U.S.-registered aircraft, the FAA-certificated airmen that would be participating in the operations, the passengers on board the aircraft, and others involved in or affected by the operations. Therefore, pursuant to the authority contained in 49 U.S.C. 106(f), 40113, and 44701, delegated to me by the Administrator, the petition for renewal of Exemption No. 6540P issued to The Collings Foundation is denied.

According to the report, the decision applies to the foundation’s other historic aircraft as well.

The Collings Foundation held events around the country as part of its Wings of Freedom tour.

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