Federal Investigator: Too Soon to Say What Caused B-17's Emergency Landing

An investigator from the National Transportation Safety Board said Monday afternoon it is too early to tell what forced the emergency landing of a vintage B-17 bomber off Minkler Road about a mile from .

Timothy Sorensen, an air safety investigator with the NTSB, said the plane received maintenance work over the weekend at the Aurora Municipal Airport, but that its pilot deemed it ready to fly Monday morning when it took off at about 9:30 a.m. bound for Indianapolis.

“I do know there were some maintenance issues with the aircraft this weekend and I understand it did not fly this weekend because of that,” Sorensen said. “I was informed that those issues were addressed and this morning the aircraft was deemed safe to fly.”

Sorensen said preliminary reports from another plane that was flying in the area at the time were that smoke was coming from the plane shortly after takeoff. The majority of the fire damage to the aircraft happened after it landed, Sorensen said.

Only one of the seven people aboard the plane was injured and that injury was sustained while the person was exiting the aircraft, said Kendall County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Craig French. That person has since been treated and released from Rush-Copley Medical Center, according to hospital spokeswoman Courtney Satlak.

None of the passengers on the plane were local residents and Sorensen said they were all in some way affiliated with the Liberty Foundation, which travels the country to for exhibitions of vintage aircraft.

Sorensen said the fact that the plane was able to make a safe landing in a cornfield just off Minkler Road is a credit to the pilot.

“He did a real good job,” Sorensen said. “He picked a nice field and had perfect weather.”

A preliminary investigation into the emergency landing will be complete in about a week and the complete investigation will wrap up in about nine months, Sorensen said.

Meanwhile, the plane is planned to be removed from the field Tuesday and taken to a facility where the investigation will continue, Sorensen said.

The Liberty Belle B-17 was available for flights and tours through the Liberty Foundation. It was on its way to Indianapolis for its next scheduled show Saturday.

Flights on the Liberty Belle were $430 for nonmembers of the Liberty Foundation.

To read the initial story on the emergency landing and see photos of the plane after the landing, click .