zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Beyond Cars
/
WWII-Era Flying Wing Plane Has Fatally Crashed On State Prison Grounds
WWII-Era Flying Wing Plane Has Fatally Crashed On State Prison Grounds-November 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:14:03

A screenshot of the Planes Of Fame’s N9M operating at an airshow in 2016

A pilot operating the world’s only 1944 Northrop N9M Flying Wing plane is reportedly deceased after the aircraft crashed on the grounds of a prison in Norco, Calif. Details on the incident are still vague; it seems no bystanders were injured but the plane appears to have essentially disintegrated on impact.

A witness described the plane as “dipping” left and right before the fatal crash at the grounds of the California Rehabilitation Center just after noon Monday, in an interview to . The news outlet reports that the plane was maintained by the Planes Of Fame air museum in Chino, nearby, which is hosting an air show early in May.

As of this writing, the NTSB and FAA are both investigating but neither the pilot’s name nor the cause of the crash have been released.

A photo of the N9MB taken in 2006

As for the unusual-looking N9M plane, has on its website that it was “the fourth and final in a series of [one-third] scale test models for the Northrop XB-35 flying Wing bombers.” It’s also described as “the grandfather of today’s .”

The air museum got this N9M in particular in the 1950s, started restoring it in 1981 and started flight testing in 1996. It was a relatively compact 17 feet, 10 inches long with a 60-foot wingspan.

Planes Of Fame’s N9M was the last operational aircraft of its type, though obviously the loss of the pilot is infinitely more tragic.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Beyond Cars
2023 Zero DSR/X: The Bike Of The Future, But Not Our Future
2023 Zero DSR/X: The Bike Of The Future, But Not Our Future
The world, in 2023, is cyberpunk. We’ve got the , the , and the that keeps the and the . But in cyberpunk media, people are always riding . Why are we stuck with the same bikes we’ve always had? , it seems, wants to address this grievous wrong....
Nov 5, 2025
Aircraft Touch Tips During Blizzard At Japanese Airport
Aircraft Touch Tips During Blizzard At Japanese Airport
As at , its port side wing the starboard vertical stabilizer of bound for Hong Kong. This comes at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, and . “Our aircraft, which was stationary at the time with no customers nor crew onboard, was struck by a Korean Air A330 which was taxiing past,”...
Nov 5, 2025
Crystal Chunks Are Bursting Through The Road In China
Crystal Chunks Are Bursting Through The Road In China
A video of what looks like quartz breaking through the surface of a is making the rounds on . I don’t get over there much, being suspicious of the Chinese over concerns of it spying on its users, as the reports. OK, fine. Actually, I just don’t get the humor...
Nov 5, 2025
Deadliest Train In America Kills 3 People In 2 Separate Collisions At The Same Crossing
Deadliest Train In America Kills 3 People In 2 Separate Collisions At The Same Crossing
operate between Orlando and Miami and hold the unwelcome distinction of being both the first intra-city high speed rail in the U.S. and the , by far. After three people died at a single grade crossing in two separate incidents last week it seems the feds are finally perking...
Nov 5, 2025
String Of Boeing Failures Continues With 737-800 Flight Turning Back With Cracked Cockpit Windshield
String Of Boeing Failures Continues With 737-800 Flight Turning Back With Cracked Cockpit Windshield
In the wake of recent major , including , , and the debacle that was , it isn’t a good time for further failures by the company. that would , an unrelated 737-800 with a cracked windshield, became international news this weekend. The flight took off from Sapporo-New Chitose...
Nov 5, 2025
Marshmallow Treats Ended Up On The Royal Air Force's No-Fly List
Marshmallow Treats Ended Up On The Royal Air Force's No-Fly List
Over in the United Kingdom, there’s a certain dessert known as a “teacake” — or, as a British friend kindly informed me, it’s more accurately known as a “Tunnock” in Scotland. Basically, the food in question for this particular story are actually a cookie base topped with marshmallow, coated...
Nov 5, 2025
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved