Liberty Belle Makes Crash Landing [VIDEO]

The restored World War II B-17 bomber, known as the Liberty Belle, had to make a crash landing yesterday in a corn field in Oswego, Illinois. The vintage plane was built back in 1944.  It was sold in 1947 as scrap and then rebuilt.  It was taken to a nearby airport near Chicago.  All seven crew members on board were able to escape from the plane before it was consumed by fire.  No injuries were reported.  Video footage of the wreckage can be found at: MSNBC.msn.com.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the plane took off from Aurora Memorial Airport yesterday morning around 9:30am.  The plane was en route to Indianapolis on Monday to give flights to the media.  Owned by the nonprofit Liberty Foundation, the Liberty Belle was expected to offer flights to the public over the Father's Day weekend.  Just last summer, the plane was here at Albany International Airport for it's most recent visit.

Here's a video, courtesy of the TimesUnion.com, of the Liberty Belle's visit last summer: