The Liberty Foundation's very popular B-17 Flying Fortress, 'Liberty Belle', made an emergency landing in a farm field near Oswego shortly after takeoff from Aurora Municipal Airport (ARR). According to the FAA, there were seven people reported on board the aircraft and, per local emergency services radio communications, all appear to have survived the emergency landing without significant injuries. It appears only one minor injury was reported.

The pilot apparantly declared an emergency with air traffic controllers due to an engine fire prior to landing in a farm field. Still photos of the scene by news helicopters show heavy fire damage to the right elevator portion of the airplane's tail that is inline with the right engines on the B-17. The damage would be consistent with a pretty significant engine fire while in flight. The airplane was destroyed in the emergency landing as the engine fire spread to the rest of the aircraft. Fire crews from multiple surrounding communities responded to the scene to assist the survivors and to try and extinguish the flames in order to salvage as much of the burning wreckage as possible.

The airplane had been at the Aurora airport as part of it's 'Salute to Veterans Tour' and also to mark the 67th Anniversary of D-Day. The foundation was offering rides in the B-17 as well as a P-40 Warhawk during the weekend event. Rides were scheduled to be about 20 minutes long and cost $1,150 for non-Liberty Foundation members and $950 for members for the P-40 and the B-17 flights were $430 for non-members and $390 for foundation members.

The airplane was grounded on Monday, June 6, shortly after arrival in Aurora due to engine problems that were subsequently repaired. Flights continued the remainder of the week and weekend without any further issues. It is unknown at this time if the engine involved in today's emergency was also the one repaired a week ago.

ATC audio of the incident can be found on LiveATC.net's forums, free registration is required to listen to the file in the post. The P-40 Warhawk that departed with the B-17 in formation can be heard yelling that 'you're on fire!' to the B-17 multiple times. The ATC controller is heard trying to identify who is making the transmission and then finally is able to spot the aircraft and asks the P-40 to confirm it is the B-17 that is experiencing the emergency. The P-40 is then heard telling the B-17 to put it on the ground as, from his exterior vantage point, he was probably able to better determine the severity of the engine fire. The assistance of the P-40 possibly helped to ensure the survival of all aboard the B-17. The callsign for the B-17 in the audio is N390TH.