![]() Even the guns were located, but they were buried on the site. For example, there is a B-17F near Leech Lake in Northern California that yielded a number of rare parts used to restore other Flying Fortresses. Although he was devastated after the loss of the P-38 that had been such a big part of his life, Pruitt acquired a Bell P-63 project to occupy his interest in World War II aircraft restoration.įor every story that’s told, some people, probably not intentionally, spread misinformation. Unfortunately, Pruitt’s P-38 was destroyed in a crash on June 6, 1997, near Tillamook, Oregon. Warbird hunters hounded him until he was made an offer he couldn’t refuse-both aircraft would be rebuilt to flying condition, and the restorers would keep one in exchange for their work and investment in making the planes fly. It was Pruitt’s intention to rebuild them as a retirement project and he had spent the better part of twenty years gathering as many P-38 spare parts as possible. Rumors of the P-38 in a barn gained traction as the warbird movement picked up momentum in the mid-1980s.Īfter the fiftieth anniversary of the P-38s first flight in 1989, there was a huge push to track down these airplanes. He dismantled the twin engine fighters and hauled them to his parents’ barn outside of Sacramento, California, for storage. The company put all four of its P-38s up for sale in 1967, and electrical engineer Bruce Pruitt bought two of them. That P-38 in the barn story many heard was actually true, except it was two P-38s, not one! P-38L 44-26969 and 44-27083 had been operated by Mark Hurd Aerial Surveys in Santa Barbara, California. One has to wonder if the P-38 in the barn story is not actually two BT-13s sitting side-by-side? The question is, how far from the original source are you? Stories have a way of changing with each retelling. ![]() Once a hidden warbird story is told, it certainly bears repeating. The inability to separate fact from fiction can, at the very least, be a big waste of time, and on the other end can endanger one’s wallet or at the extreme one’s life and limb. One needs to be able to separate fact from fiction and do so quickly. Then there’s being in the right place at the right time, being willing to take a chance, and being ready, and knowing when, to act.Īnd then there’s the ability to read people, especially the storytellers. Those who believe they can influence their luck know that this superpower is made up of five components: Many believe it’s all in who you know. The data then shows a final descent that ended north of the airport.Some people don’t believe in luck, while others think that luck is what you make of it. ![]() and then flew west to Bridgeport at the an altitude of 3,500 feet at 260 miles per hour.Īs it neared Bridgeport, data shows the aircraft gaining altitude to 3,800 feet before descending to 1,300 feet as it neared the airport. As the aircraft approached the runway, it accelerated and gained altitude, speeding up from 140 mph to 284 mph, reaching 4,000 feet as it circled out from the airport. Both crew were seriously injured.Īccording to the flight tracking system Flight Aware, the aircraft took off from the airport in Fort Worth at 6:21 p.m. The crash sequence ended with the jet embedded in a an empty barn. in a field near the airport in the 1900 block of U.S. The Aero Vodochody L-139, took off from Perot Field/Fort Worth Alliance and was headed to the Bridgeport Municipal Airport.
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