Seven dead in Connecticut vintage B-17 WWII bomber crash

(FASTNEWS | COLOMBO) – Seven people have died after a rare World War Two-era plane crashed and burst into flames at an airport in the US state of Connecticut.

There were 13 people aboard the vintage Boeing B-17 – dubbed the Flying Fortress – when it crashed outside Hartford on Wednesday morning.

The aircraft was civilian-registered and was not being flown by the US military, aviation officials say.

Experts say only about 10 B-17 planes are still being flown around the US.