Pilot error cited in vintage plane crash

HARTFORD, Conn. — Pilot error probably caused the 2019 crash of a World War II-era bomber in Connecticut that killed seven people and injured six others, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a report released Tuesday. The report also cited inadequate maintenance as a contributing factor.

The four-engine, propeller-driven B-17G Flying Fortress bomber with 13 people aboard crashed at Bradley International Airport, north of Hartford, during a traveling vintage aircraft show on Oct. 2, 2019.

The pilot, Ernest “Mac” McCauley, reported a problem with one of the engines shortly after takeoff, and the plane crashed into a maintenance building and burst into flames after striking the runway lights during a landing attempt.

The NTSB said flight data indicated that the landing gear was extended too early, adding drag that slowed the plane, and it was traveling too slowly on its return to the airport.

McCauley, 75, of Long Beach, Calif., was a veteran pilot who colleagues said had great skills flying the B-17G. He and co-pilot Michael Foster, 71, of Jacksonville, Fla., were killed in the crash, along with five of the 10 passengers. The plane’s mechanic, Mitchell Melton, of Hawkins, Texas, was the only crew member to survive.

The NTSB said there was a power loss in two of the four engines during the flight, a problem it blamed on McCauley’s “inadequate maintenance.” McCauley also served as the maintenance director of the plane’s owner, the Collings Foundation, based in Stow, Mass.

The Collings Foundation said in a statement Tuesday that it is reviewing the NTSB’s findings.