As it crossed over Yesler Terrace, the bomber was visibly trailing smoke. Some witnesses thought the airplane was out of control because Allen was erratically wagging its wings, but he was doing this to try to keep the smoke and flames out of the cabin and force them to stream behind the plane. Burns and smoke on their bodies confirmed how severe the blaze had become in less than one minute. They were far too low for their parachutes to open and died on impact. As the aircraft passed above First Hill at perhaps 250 feet, horrified witnesses saw three men jump out. At the same time the fire was spreading with astonishing rapidity, and smoke and flames began pouring into the fuselage. The plane flew over the eastern neighborhoods of Seattle, shedding parts as it went - burned hose clamps, part of a de-icer valve, and instrumentation tubing were later discovered on the ground along its path. The wing spar is burning badly" ("Eddie Allen and the B-29"). At Boeing, tower operators heard the radioman tell Allen over an open microphone, "Allen, better get this thing down in a hurry. The airplane began rapidly losing altitude. Then they heard an explosion they described as sounding like a loud backfire, and a piece of metal fell from the plane. The aircraft was at 1,200 feet, five miles from Boeing Field, and witnesses said it appeared to be flying normally as it crossed the shoreline. Allen passed Boeing Field several miles to his west and flew over the western part of Lake Washington, then turned southwest and crossed the shoreline near Seattle's Madrona Park. As the plane passed over Renton, fire again erupted in the No. However, rather than return by the most direct route, which would have required landing the heavy, fuel-laden airplane from the south with the wind behind him, he decided to land the plane from the north and into the wind.
Nevertheless, Allen decided to return to Boeing Field and turned north. The engine was shut down and the crew quickly put out the fire, and the problem seemed over. 1 engine on the outside of the left wing. Eight minutes after takeoff, shortly after the plane reported it was passing over Lake Tapps (Pierce County), a fire broke out in the No. on February 18, 1943.įor February, it was a pleasant day: high clouds, moderate temperatures, and a 5 mph breeze out of the south. It took off from Boeing Field to the south at 12:09 p.m. He was at the helm for the plane's ninth flight, accompanied by 10 men, most of them engineers. Highly experienced and dedicated, bold but not reckless, he was a natural to be flying the XB-29. In 1939, he became Boeing's first Director of Aerodynamics and Flight Research. (This later became the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, commonly known as NASA.) He went to work for Boeing in 1927 as an airmail pilot, but he soon became a freelance test flyer for new airplanes and eventually made flights in more than 30 new models. During World War I (1917-1918 in the U.S.) he served in the Army as a flight instructor, and afterward he became one of the first test pilots for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. Out of an additional seven flights - most if not all piloted by Allen - a fuel leak was detected in one and suspected in another.Īllen was widely known and respected in aviation circles. After a pause for analysis and repairs, it flew again in late January and February. Allen landed the aircraft just in the nick of time.
One of the plane's engines caught fire while it was aloft, and the fire spread. On December 30, 1942, the second XB-29 made its first flight, piloted by Edmund T. Though this flight was successful, later flights were plagued with engine failures. The first prototype, called the XB-29, had its initial flight in September 1942. The entry of the United States into World War II in December 1941 made the task more urgent. Army Air Corps commissioned Boeing to design a new four-engine bomber that could fly higher and farther than the B-17 then in use. World War II is raging and wartime press censorship is in effect, and while the event cannot be concealed, the identity of the aircraft type (which will drop the first atomic bombs on Japan to end the war more than two years later) will not be revealed until after the war. The plane's 11 crewmen, including the renowned test pilot Eddie Allen, die, and 20 Frye employees perish a firefighter also dies fighting the blaze.
After a harrowing, fiery flight over downtown Seattle, the airplane crashes into the Frye Packing Company on Airport Way and explodes. On February 18, 1943, the second of Boeing's top-secret B-29 prototype Superfortress bombers catches fire minutes after takeoff from Boeing Field.
0 kommentar(er)
