The Boeing Model 299 was a prototype for the B-17 Flying Fortress, a bomber widely used
by the U.S Army Air Corps during World War II.
The plane was an astonishing gamble built entirely at the company's expense.
While the Army Air Corps had requested proposals for a mere twin-engine bomber, Boeing came
to them with a total of four, blasting 750 horsepower each.
And the plane was massive - the largest land-based airplane built at that time.
As soon as it was revealed to the press, a journalist nicknamed it "The Flying Fortress,"
thanks to the distinct gun mount on the nose and the defensive machine guns placed along
the fuselage.
The bomber outperformed other prototypes that competed against it for the government contract.
Air Corps officials were thrilled with it, despite its hefty production price.
It was practically a fact that Model 299 would be the winning proposal.
However, this extraordinary prototype was destroyed during an evaluation flight, which
resulted in the loss of the test flight pilot and a Boeing employee.
Because of the incident, Model 299 was disqualified from the competition.
The fate of Boeing and the plans for what would become one of the most famous airplanes
in the world nearly stalled with it.
A Gamble
The Martin B-10 was revolutionary in bomber design thanks to its all-metal airframe and
rotating gun turrets.
However, in 1934, the U.S Air Corps issued a proposal to replace it.
The specifications called for a multi-engine bomber that could reach 10,000 feet and a
top speed of 200 miles per hour for 10 hours.
The new bomber would be sent to reinforce Hawaii, Panama, and Alaska.
An essential requirement established that the plane had to maintain a 7,000-feet altitude
even if one of the engines was cut out.
Boeing assembled a team composed of some of its most brilliant minds to work on a four-engine
aircraft proposal.
This included the company president, Clairmont L. Egtvedt, and engineers Charles N. Monteith,
Robert J. Minshall, and Edward C. Wells.
The prototype was built at Boeing's expense, as the company counted on winning the program
to continue existing.
Years before the proposal, a Navy officer had complained to Egtvedt that no aircraft
existed that could deliver heavy blows to the enemy while protecting itself.
The group of engineers designed Model 299 with that concern in mind.
The prototype had some XB-15 bomber features, then the biggest aircraft ever built in the
United States, and the Model 247.
This mid-wing monoplane of aluminum construction had four Pratt & Whitney engines.
The aircraft could carry five .30 caliber machine guns and
a payload of 4,800 pounds.
Flying Fortress
Boeing publicly showed off the airplane on July 17, 1935.
The moment this massive bright bomber came rolling out with its machine guns, it became
a total hit with journalists.
Richard Williams, a reporter for the Seattle Times, wrote [QUOTE]: "Why, it's a flying
fortress!"
Immediately recognizing the publicity appeal of the nickname, the company trademarked it.
The Air Corps received three appealing proposals: Boeing Model 299, the Douglas DB-1, and the
Martin Model 146.
To decide what company got the contract, the Air Corps decided on making every airplane
compete in a fly-off.
On July 28, 1935, Model 299 had its maiden flight with Leslie Tower as the test pilot.
The aircraft outperformed the other two airplanes and greatly impressed aviation officials.
Major General Frank Maxwell Andrews of the GHQ Air Force reportedly said that Boeing's
prototype exceeded the other's capabilities and was better suited to the Air Corps doctrine.
The widely expected fly-off took place on August 20, 1935.
Boeing flew the aircraft non-stop from Seattle to Wright Field, Ohio, in nine hours and three
minutes.
It maintained an average cruising speed of 252 miles per hour, which outperformed the
other planes and caught the Air Corps' attention.
After the fly-off came, the Flying Fortress became the strongest candidate.
Its cost was twice the competition, at over 1.86 million dollars, but the aircraft had
already managed to impress everyone.
Some people at Congress thought the bomber could be too costly and challenging to fly,
but the Army was enamored with it.
The competition wasn't even over, and the USAAC had already ordered 65 Models 299.
Everything seemed to favor the aircraft until the unexpected happened...
The Crash
On October 30, 1935, Boeing decided to conduct a second evaluation flight.
Army Air Corps test-pilot Major Ployer Peter Hill and copilot Donald L. Putt were responsible
for flying the Model 299.
Also aboard were Boeing pilot Leslie Tower, and flight observers John B. Cutting and Mark
H. Koogler.
This was the first time that Hill flew the prototype, but he had ample experience flying
early versions of the Martin-10.
Tower, who had previously flown Model 299, positioned himself behind the pilots to give
advice.
Shortly after take-off, the aircraft's nose went up at a higher angle than expected, climbed
up to 200 feet, stalled, and then nosed down onto the ground.
It crashed on its left wing and started burning.
First Lieutenant Robert K. Giovannoli immediately ran towards the wreckage.
In a remarkable act of heroism, he crawled into the burning aircraft to free Hill's toe,
which was jammed behind the controls.
Giovannoli carried the pilot out and went back for Tower, who was severely injured but
managed to give a testimony of the events.
Hill and Tower passed away due to their injuries.
The two observers and the copilot managed to escape without injuries.
Since Boeing couldn't complete the flight evaluation, Model 299 was disqualified from
the competition.
Army Chief of Staff Malin Craig canceled the order of 65 Models 299 and instead ordered
133 Douglas B-18 Bolos.
Author Peter Bowers explained, [QUOTE]: "The loss was not total... but Boeing's hopes for
a substantial bomber contract were dashed."
The Air Corps' official investigation determined that the accident was caused by the pilots
taking off with locked gust controls.
These were locked on the ground to prevent damage to control surfaces and had to be unlocked
after take-off.
However, by the time Tower noticed the mistake, he couldn't reach the release.
The aircraft's tail section, the only part that survived the fire, bore evidence of an
internal control lock in the up position.
The board in charge of the investigation concluded that pilots typically remembered to check
that those controls were unlocked.
But that hadn't happened in this case.
Despite the accident, the USAAC found a loophole to grant a smaller 13-airplane contract to
Boeing.
Model 299 eventually evolved into the B-17, an extraordinary heavy bomber that would rule
the skies in World War II.
It became the third-most produced bomber of the time and was vital in the war's daylight
strategic bombing campaigns.
The Douglas B-18 Bolo, which won the fly-off competition, provided barely adequate service
and was nearly wiped out in the attack on Pearl Harbor.
The Checklist
The fatal accident made it clear that the loss of life could have been prevented if
the pilots had followed specific steps to make sure the controls were unlocked.
To avoid any further accidents with the Flying Fortress, the Air Corps made pilots follow
a checklist that later became the norm in aircraft operations.
Efforts had been made before the Model 299 crash to create checklists.
However, there was too much dependency and trust in pilots' memories, who became responsible
for making sure that the aircraft was ready to fly.
In 1903, Wilbur Wright first conducted lengthy checks on the aircraft, the catapult system,
and any other factor that could influence the demonstrations he flew in Europe.
Mnemonic checklists were also used by pilots in the early days of aviation.
For example, some ran the GUMP, which consisted of checking gear, undercarriage, mixture,
and propeller.
In 1911, general Benjamin Foulois, who flew some of the first military planes acquired
to the Wright brothers, wrote the "Provisional Aeroplane Regulations for the Signal Corps."
In it, he stated [QUOTE]: "Immediately preceding every flight, an aeroplane will be carefully
inspected by the pilot and mechanic.
Each inspection is to be made independently of the other."
These became an important predecessor of the checklist.
Throughout aviation history, pilot training schools and international air corps taught
checklist-like procedures to inspect aircraft.
But the creation of the modern checklist didn't take place until after the accident of Model
299.
To train the mostly amateur aviators responsible
for piloting the B-17 and preventing any likely accident, the Air Corps developed a series
of checklists.
These would be used during the stages of take-off, approaching, and landing.
Their 57-step checklist for pilots and copilots included instructions on preflight inspection,
engine start and run-up, take-off, and landing.
Two years after the fatal accident, paper checklists became more available on multi-engine
aircraft.
However, many resisted their use and still required pilots to learn the drills rather
than rely on a piece of paper with steps written.
Checklists become particularly important because over 76 percent of hull-loss accidents occur
during take-off, approaching, and landing, according to researcher Asaf Dagani.
In his 1990 study "Human Factors of Flight-Deck Checklists," he said [QUOTE]: "The major function
of the checklist is to ensure that the crew will properly configure the plane for flight,
and maintain this level of quality throughout the flight and in every flight."
Nowadays, checklists come in different formats.
Some modern cockpits have electronic checklists on display screens.
Some aircrews still run checklists by calling out action by action.
Aviation wasn't the only activity that found checklists to be life-saving.
Surgeons, software engineers, lawyers, and even sports cards collectors use them.
Even though their usefulness has been made clear through the decades, not following the
checklist remains a common factor in aviation accidents.
Human errors cannot be eliminated entirely, but checklists have become fundamental to
prevent Murphy's law.
Model 299 really proved that anything that can go wrong will go wrong.