Vintage WWII-Era Plane Crashes in Connecticut With 13 People on Board

Thick black smoke filled the air after the craft went down.

Thick black smoke filled the air as a World War II bomber went down in flames Wednesday morning in Connecticut.

The vintage B-17 crashed at Bradley Airport outside Hartford. 

There were 13 passengers on board Wednesday when the plane ran into trouble shortly after takeoff.

Eyewitnesses say the plane was flying very low as it circled back around the airport. They say one of the engines appeared to have stalled.

The plane landed hard, crashing into a de-icing tank.

At least five people died in the crash and nine, including an airport employee on the ground, were rushed to the hospital.

The B-17 is one of the most famous from WWII. Now, the planes are fixtures at air shows across the country, where plane enthusiasts pay $450 to take a 30-minute ride in the sky. 

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