October 11, 2004
The Yankee Air Museum The
The Yankee Air Museum
The Yankee Air Museum, a museum that housed Vintage aircraft and aviation artifacts burned to the ground over the weekend. The estimated damage is between $5-7 billion.
They were able to push 3 vintage planes out of the hanger before the fire got to intense to save any more planes. The planes saved were a B-17, B25 and a C47. The hanger was constructed of wood during WWII when metal wasbeing rationed. The hanger is at the Willow Run Airport, which is next to the Willow Run Factory which produced bombers during WWII.
The fire was a 7 alarm fire, started around 6:30pm and the museum is a total loss. People reported seeing the smoke from the fire as far away as Toledo, the museum is located in the far eastern edge of Ypsilanti, Michigan. I live about 4 miles as the crow flies from the airport/museum. I took pictures of the smoke as seen from my house.
