Savoia-Marchetti S.66

The three engine float plane departed Cagliari in the early morning and continued its route along the east coast of Sardinia. While overflying over the Tyrrhenian Sea, the aircraft entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed. The crew did not send any mayday message. Debris were found floating on water some 145 km east of Olbia and none of the 20 occupants survived the crash.

The seaplane departed Barcelona at 0700LT on a flight to Rome with intermediate stops in Marseille and Genoa, carrying eight passengers and a crew of four. About an hour into the flight, the crew encountered engine problems and the captain ditched the airplane in the Mediterranean Sea. After several mayday messages were send, three ships rerouted to the accident site. All 12 occupants were evacuated safely by the crew of the French ship named 'Almansour'. The airplane was abandoned and washed up on a beach of the north coast of the Minorca Island on July 23.

While approaching the Marsaxlokk Bay at night, the float plane encountered downdraft from a height of 50 feet and crashed in the harbor, few yards offshore. All occupants were rescued, among them one was injured. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair. It was performing a stop in Valetta en route from Rome to Tripoli.