The last and only surviving flyable Boeing 307 ditched in Puget Sound today. No one was killed thank god but what a shame they did an awesome job restoring it. It looks intact and hopefully they will be able to get it out of the saltwater ASAP. I just wish they wouldn't fly the really rare historic aircraft... I think this was the 307 that used to be at the Pima museum for years...

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Ah well, maybe there was a reason why it's the last one?  Kinda like when a species goes extinct?

About the Boeing 307:
[url]http://216.219.216.110/boeing/307.html[/url]
Boeing Model 307 Stratoliner was the first fully pressurized airliner to enter service anywhere in the world, Boeing's 33-seat Model 307 Stratoliner of 1938 employed the wings and tail surfaces of the B-17C Flying Fortress.

Boeing's Model 299, prototype for the military bomber aircraft which duly became the B-17 Flying Fortress, was developed in parallel with a civil version of the same aircraft which had the company designation Boeing Model 300. The Model 307, or Stratoliner, was a straightforward conversion from the supremely successful B-17 Flying Fortress bomber. The Boeing 307 was developed to start another era, that of pressurized comfort at higher altitudes than had been previously contemplated.

Boeing 307 story from the Seattle Times (Pravda Northwest):
[url]http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/134428029_plane29m.html[/url]
Nelson and three other men yesterday walked away from the water landing that left the recently restored airplane bobbing in the 100-foot-deep water off Alki. Hundreds saw the spectacular landing.
Mike Fergus, spokesman for the Seattle office of the Federal Aviation Administration, said Nelson was on final approach to Boeing Field when he reported a light indicating a problem with his landing gear. He broke off the approach and circled over Bainbridge Island while he checked into the problem.

Around 1 p.m., Nelson began a landing approach from the north to Boeing Field on runway 13-Right, which runs southwest, Fergus said. At 1:08 p.m., the pilot radioed a "mayday."

A minute later, Fergus said, "the pilot said it appeared he was going to impact the ground." Instead, he managed to ditch the plane in Elliott Bay just off West Seattle.

People all along the waterfront heard the sputtering engines.

"It'd go, 'boom, boom, boom,' and then it was silent. Then it went, 'boom, boom, boom,' and then it was silent again," said Janette Waistelle, 65, who was walking along Alki.

"I'm assuming that they're going to rescue the airplane," said Cummings, the retired mechanic. He couldn't say whether the aircraft might be too damaged, especially from effects of salt water, to be salvaged. "Water doesn't help anything out."

At any rate, Cummings said the Stratoliner's four engines likely will have to be rebuilt.

It's up to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum to decide whether it still wants to exhibit the Stratoliner, and it's up to Boeing whether it would continue funding the restoration.
[img]http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/a16planejump29_0328201309.jpeg[/img]
[img]http://216.219.216.110/boeing/307-2b.jpg[/img]

Always sad when we lose any airplane.  Hopefully they'll pull it up and restore it again.   Given the choices, shallow water and no injuries is about all you can ask for.  The controversy is always if its better to fly the historic airplanes, or preserve them in a museum.  There is just something much more impressive about seeing (and hearing) an old airplane flying then a sitting as a static display in an old hanger somewhere.  Ah well, that's another debate.