CHICAGO - A World War II bomber on Monday crashed and burned after it took off from Aurora Municipal Airport in the west of Chicago and all the seven people on board have escaped without injury, according to aviation officials.

The plane, a B-17 bomber, went down about three or four miles from Aurora 20 minutes after it took off, reported Chicago Tribune on Monday, quoting the spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration.

"The plane is burning. We believe the seven people on board escaped without injury," said the spokeswoman.

The pilot made an emergency landing in a cornfield near a highway after reporting an engine fire, according to the local fire department.

The authorities are investigating the accident.

The plane was manufactured in 1944 and is registered to the Liberty Foundation in Miami.