Hi Guys,
The airplane had just taken off, had a chase plane with it, a Lima Lima T-6 aerobatic team airplane, along side. That pilot is heard telling the bomber that it was on fire. Shortly thereafter (can be heard on ATCLive.com) he is telling them to, "...get it on the ground now!" The crew fought the observed fire on the number two engine or system, probably shutting it down and pulling the fire-pull for that engine to try to reduce the flow of gasoline from the tank through the gascolator or boost pumps (the area where the inflight shots show the flames). Then made a high angle of bank turn while configuring to land (putting the gear and flaps down), lining up on the corn field and landing the airplane, coming to a full stop on the gear, without hitting anything, and then shutting down the engines. All escaped, someone bumped their noggin' getting out (the only injury) and the airplane burned to the ground because the gasoline ran down the dihedral angle to the bomb bay by gravity and fed itself with the many hundreds of gallons of fuel on board (the B-25 and DC-3's I've flown hold 940 and 800 respectively, double that for the B-17 easy)providing plenty of head pressure.
The crew did a great job, the chase plane was a great asset, and we're all glad that those fragile humans on board are here to fly another day.
Chris...
P.S. Floyd Carter, this airplane was rolled out of it's ground up restoration in 2004 from Tom Reilly's famous and esteemed shop. It's owned by a multi-millionaire and maintained by the maintenance crew that does all of the work for his foundation's fleet of warbirds. (This owner has another B-17 in restoration right now.) The airplane is on a progressive maintenance schedule approved by the FAA and this airplane is one of a few on a special issuance waiver to operate for hire, giving educational rides for compensation. They have a stricter FAA oversight than other warbirds. I can only assume one of two things from your post; 1) You don't like warbird operators and make disparaging remarks about them as a rule. 2) You restored your Focke Wulf in the manner you described this airplane to be and are speaking from your own experience.