Farmhouse Resident Had Close Look at Plane's Emergency Landing

Of all the people who either saw or heard the downing of the Liberty Belle B-17 in Oswego on Monday morning, Richard Seitz probably was the closest.

Seitz was the only one of his roommates home at about 10 a.m. Monday when the World War II bomber flew over the Minkler Road farmhouse adjacent to the cornfield where the aircraft made its emergency landing.

The plane came to its final resting place about half-mile east of the home’s back yard.

“It was pretty loud,” Seitz said Monday afternoon of the aircraft flying almost directly over the home. “I wasn’t exactly sure what was going on, but I was just worried for the people that were in the plane.”

Seitz lives in the home with roommate Nicole Amy, whose family owns the house and the farmland surrounding it. Amy said other local farmers are now farming the land.

As crews worked in the field to remove the plane Tuesday morning, Seitz said officials have not shared how they plan to remove the aircraft.

Workers with a crane could be seen from the home’s back yard. Kendall County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Craig French said officials from the National Transportation Safety Board hoped to have the plane removed Tuesday before storms move through the area later in the week.

“[The plane] won’t be going anywhere the muddier that field gets,” he said.