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The World War II plane was civilian registered, according to the FAA, and was part of the Wings of Freedom tour, according to ABC New Haven affiliate WTNH.

McCauley had flown for the Collings Foundation, which holds the Wings of Freedom tour, for over 20 years, and he had 7,300 hours in the B-17 -- the most time of any B-17 pilot in the country, according to the NTSB.

The plane was involved in an accident in 1987, when it overran a runway in Pennsylvania, and was involved in a 1995 incident when landing gear failed to deploy, according to the NTSB.

\"PHOTO:
Ted S. Warren/AP, FILE
PHOTO: In this June 6, 2016, file photo, a World War II-era Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress airplane banks in the air as it comes in for a landing in Seattle on the anniversary of D-Day.
>

Officials with the Collings Foundation said in a statement: \"Our thoughts and prayers are with those who were on that flight and we will be forever grateful to the heroic efforts of the first responders at Bradley Airport. The Collings Foundation flight team is fully cooperating with officials to determine the cause of the crash of the B-17 Flying Fortress.\"

\"PHOTO:
Courtesy NTSB
PHOTO: In this photo posted to the NTSB Newsroom Twitter account, NTSB investigators examine ground scars made by a B-17 that crashed at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut, Oct. 2, 2019.
>

ABC News' Whit Johnson, Aaron Katersky, Christine Theodorou, Jason Kuang, Matt Stone and Alyssa Acquavella contributed to this report.

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