Safety violations ground historic warbirds that visit Torrance annually

The FAA has grounded 10 historic aircraft that a nonprofit group regularly used for public flights, including at several Southern California airports — such as Torrance’s Zamperini Field — after finding serious safety violations in the wake of an October crash that killed seven, though the organization said in a statement it has a “commitment to safety.”

The Federal Aviation Administration release a seven-page report last week that probed the Oct. 2 crash of the historic World War II-era B-17G bomber in Connecticut during an emergency landing; one of the crash’s victims was the pilot, also a Long Beach resident. The report said that evidence showed the Collings Foundation “lacked a safety culture” when operating the bomber, nicknamed the Flying Fortress.

Hunter Chaney, director of marketing for the foundation, said on Monday, March 31, that Collings was reviewing its options; but, Chaney added, the group was not allowed to comment on the FAA accident investigation or given a heads-up before the decision to ground the aircraft was made.

The crew chief for the Flying Fortress, whose duties included handling emergencies, told investigators he was “unaware of basic information concerning operations,” including the existence of a required safety management system and had received only on-the-job training, the report said.