ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 97728
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| Date: | Friday 26 May 1944 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress |
| Owner/operator: | 869th BSqn /497th BGp USAAF |
| Registration: | 42-5183 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | 2 miles northeast of Preston, Kansas -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Unknown |
| Departure airport: | |
On 26 May 1944, while only a short distance from its home base of Pratt Army Air Field, Kansas, the No 3 engine of the B-17F 42-5183 of 869th BS, 497th BG, caught fire. The pilot, Lt Exerett P Abar, tried to reach Pratt Airfield but found he was unable to do so. He therefore effected a belly-landing in a wheat field 2 miles northeast of Preston, about 25 miles northeast of the airfield.
Just before he landed, the burning motor fell off. The plane, with the exception of part of the tail surfaces, was almost completely destroyed by fire, but due to a the fine handling of the plane by its pilot, no one was injured.
From a letter dated 5/27/44 by PFC Arthur McKelvey of the 497th Bomb Gp, 870th Bomb Sq who was stationed at the Army Air Field, Pratt, Kansas:
"A B-17 crashed 15 miles from here this morning. The left inboard engine caught fire in flight and they couldn't get to the field so they crash landed in a farmer's field. The fire was in the middle of the ship when they stopped but all members of the crew got out O.K. Everything burned except the wing tips and the tail."
Sources:
"The Long haul: the story of the 497th Bomber Group (VH)", by Harry A Stewart, John E Power and United States Army Air Forces, 1947
http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/AARmonthly/May1944S.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preston,_Kansas
http://www.maplandia.com/united-states/kansas/pratt-county/preston/
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 06-Jan-2018 22:26 | Laurent Rizzotti | Updated [Operator, Total fatalities, Location, Phase, Nature, Source, Narrative] |
| 23-Mar-2020 11:01 | DG333 | Updated [Operator, Location, Operator] |
| 09-Mar-2024 11:47 | Anon. | Updated [Narrative] |
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