Wreckage is seen where World War II-era bomber plane crashed at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Conn., Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019. A fire with black smoke rose from near the airport as emergency crews responded. The airport said in a message on Twitter that it has closed.

The historic B-17 Flying Fortress that hundreds of county residents viewed, perused or even rode in at the Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport in August during the Wings of Freedom celebration has crashed in Connecticut, reportedly killing seven people.

According to published national news reports, the World War II-era plane that appeared at Wings of Freedom over the weekend of August 17 crashed upon a landing attempt at about 10 a.m. on Wednesday at Bradley International Airport in Hartford.

The vintage plane crashed at the end of the runway, according to reports at the scene, and six people were taken to a local hospital in Hartford.

According to a report from the Associated Press Wednesday evening, seven people died in the accident.News reports stated that there were 13 people on board when the plane crashed.Officials at the Collings Foundation, which owns the plane and coordinates visits by several historic planes to events around the country, confirmed on Wednesday that the aircraft involved in the crash was the same plane that visited the Wings of Freedom event in Penn Township.An initial statement from the Collings Foundation said “Our thoughts and prayers are with those who were on that flight and we will be forever grateful to the heroic efforts of the first responders at Bradley. The Collings Foundation flight team is fully cooperating with officials to determine the cause of the crash of the B-17 Flying Fortress and will comment further when details become known.”The official said the foundation is still in communication with those at Bradley to determine the condition of those on board and the number of fatalities.This is a breaking news item — subscribe online or in print to read the full article.

A file photo of the Flying Fortress B-17 bomber when it was here at the Pittsburgh-Butler Airport this summer as part of the Wings of Freedom Tour.