World War II bomber lands on fire near Chicago
Updated at 4:11 p.m. ET
OSWEGO, Ill. - The Federal Aviation Administration says a World War II B-17 bomber apparently made an emergency landing in a cornfield outside Chicago before it was consumed by fire.(At left, watch a report from CBS News Station WBBM-TV in Chicago)
Spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory says the FAA believes the seven people on board the plane escaped uninjured. She says the plane departed the Aurora Municipal Airport on Monday morning and the accident happened immediately after takeoff.
The National Transportation Safety Board is now investigating the incident.
Kevin Potts, a farmer in the area, said he saw the plane fly over. He told CBS News Station WBBM-TV in Chicago that the plane was obviously in trouble.
"I noticed that it was a little too low and was kind of coming down, and then I noticed flames coming out underneath its left wing," Potts told WBBM-TV.
Potts said the plane was being escorted by a plane from the Lima Lima flight team.
He jumped in an all-terrain vehicle and went to the crash scene, a cornfield about two miles away.
"It's just an amazing job by this pilot, and thank God that, apparently, everyone walked away," he said.
The pilot reported a fire shortly after taking off, said Sugar Grove Fire Chief Marty Kunkle.
"He attempted to make a return to the airport, but couldn't make it so he put it down in a cornfield," Kunkel said.
Firefighters from Oswego, Sugar Grove and Plainfield responded to the crash. Fire officials said they were having difficulty accessing the crash because of wet fields.
The aircraft was made in 1944 and is known as the "Flying Fortress." Authorities say it is registered to the Liberty Foundation in Miami.