© 2024
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
An update has been released for the Android version of the WAMC App that addresses performance issues. Please check the Google Play Store to download and update to the latest version.

Victims Of B-17 Crash At Bradley International Airport Identified

NTSB

Two western Massachusetts men were among the seven people killed in the crash Wednesday of a B-17 airplane at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut.

Authorities Thursday listed 56-year-old David Broderick of West Springfield as “deceased” and 48-year-old James Roberts of Ludlow as “presumed deceased.”

Both men were passengers.

The remaining victims were the pilot and co-pilot and three passengers.

Another passenger, 36-year-old Andy Barrett of South Hadley, Massachusetts was among the injured.

Three crew members and 10 passengers were aboard the vintage plane when five minutes into the flight officials saw it was not gaining altitude, according to Kevin Dillon of the Conn. Airport Authority.

"The NTSB is going to be conducting a very comprehensive investigation. That investigation is going to take a while," said Dillon. 

The plane lost control on touchdown, and burst into flames.

Full list of those aboard the flight:

  • Pilot: Ernest McCauley, 75, of Long Beach, CA. Presumed deceased.
  • Co-Pilot: Michael Foster, 71, of Jacksonville, FL. Presumed deceased.
  • Flight Engineer: Mitchell Melton, 34, of Dalehart, TX. Injured.
  • Passenger: Andy Barrett, 36, of South Hadley, MA. Injured.
  • Passenger: Linda Schmidt, 62, of Suffield, CT. Injured.
  • Passenger: Tom Schmidt, 62, of Suffield, CT. Injured.
  • Passenger: Joseph Huber, 48, of Tariffville, CT. Injured.
  • Passenger: James Traficante, 54, of Simsbury, CT. Injured.
  • Passenger: David Broderick, 56, of West Springfield, MA. Deceased.
  • Passenger: Gary Mazzone, 66, of Broad Brook, CT. Presumed deceased.
  • Passenger: James Roberts, 48, of Ludlow, MA. Presumed deceased.
  • Passenger: Robert Riddell, 59, of East Granby, CT. Presumed deceased.
  • Passenger: Robert Rubner, 64, of Tolland, CT. Presumed deceased.
  • Airport employee: Andrew Sullivan, 28, of Enfield, CT. Injured.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.

The record-setting tenure of Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno. The 2011 tornado and its recovery that remade the largest city in Western Massachusetts. The fallout from the deadly COVID outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers Home. Those are just a few of the thousands and thousands of stories WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill has covered for WAMC in his nearly 17 years with the station.
Related Content