At least 5 dead after vintage WWII plane crashes at Connecticut airport

At least five people are dead and nine more are injured after a vintage World War II plane crashed at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut, The Hartford Courant reports.

The Boeing B-17 aircraft took off at 9:45 a.m. ET with 10 people onboard, and 5 minutes later, its pilot reported having flight difficulties. The plane was trying to land when it crashed into a small building and tanks holding deicing fluid, injuring one person on the ground as the plane caught on fire, state public safety Commissioner James Rovella told the Courant.

Six people had already been transferred to a nearby hospital after the crash, and of them, three were listed in critical condition, the Courant continues. Rovella would not give a death toll, but sources said at least five people were dead, and that rescuers hadn't reached the front of the plane where the pilot and co-pilot were seated yet. The crash prompted Bradley to close for about three hours, reopening at 1:48 p.m. ET. Bradley is just outside of Hartford, Connecticut and is the second largest airport in New England.

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The plane was in the area as part of the Collings Foundation's Wings of Freedom tour, which sends vintage aircraft around the country for historical aviation education opportunities, NPR reports. The tour lets members of the public take half-hour rides in the planes. In a statement, the Collings Foundation said it is "fully cooperating with officials to determine the cause of the crash" and extended its "thoughts and prayers" to the victims.