Pisa

The Hercules was involved in a combined exercise called 'Cold Stream' between British and Italian Army under call sign 'Chalk 4', and was carrying 46 Italian paratroopers and six British crew members to the Villacidro dropzone located in Sardinia. Shortly after takeoff from Pisa-San Giusto Airport, while climbing by night, the airplane went out of control and crashed into the sea about 7 km offshore. The aircraft was destroyed and none of 52 occupants survived the crash. The assumption that the loss of control was the consequence of an in-flight structural failure was not ruled out.

En route to Pisa-San Giusto Airport, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with rain falls and the visibility was limited. By night, the aircraft struck the slope of a mountain located in the Apennins Mountain Range, near Pistoia. All five crew members were killed.

The crew was returning to Canada, carrying the remains of a RCAF DHC-3 Otter (c/n 185) that crashed in Gaza on 19SEP1958. While overflying the Apennins mountain range, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with snow falls and icing conditions. In such circumstances, the airplane lost altitude and eventually, the captain decided to attempt an emergency landing when the airplane struck trees and crashed in a rough terrain. All seven crew members were evacuated while both aircraft were destroyed.

The four engine aircraft christened 'Helka' was performing a cargo flight, carrying 50 cows. After touchdown at Pisa-San Giusto Airport, the airplane encountered difficulties to stop within the remaining distance. It overran and came to rest in flames in a ditch. All four crew members were evacuated safely while only three cows were rescued, 47 others being killed.

The aircraft was scheduled to fly from Florence to Rome but few minutes prior to departure, the operator decided to make an unscheduled stop in Pisa Airport to disembark passengers that were blocked in Florence due to a technical failure on the aircraft. Due to low clouds, the crew was forced to fly at low height from Florence to Pisa and apparently, the weather conditions dropped as the aircraft approached Pisa Airport. Descending from the south in poor visibility, the aircraft hit the slope of a mountain and crashed near the village of Collesalvetti, south of the airport. All three crew members and four passengers were killed while three other passengers were seriously injured.

The aircraft left Istres-Le Tubé AFB at 1237LT bound for Udine with an intermediate stop in Pisa. While flying over the Alps, the crew encountered poor visibility with snowstorm and strong winds. In such conditions, the captain decided to return to Istres but was unable to locate his position with certainty. Few minutes later, while flying northwest of the village of Château Garnier, the aircraft hit the slope of Mt du Cheval Blanc culminating at an altitude of 2,323 meters. The wreckage was spotted by the crew of a USAF B-17 based in Germany two days later. On site, rescuers did not find any survivors and among the passengers were five children aged 5, and women of US soldiers based in Udine. The day after the wreckage was found, the US B-17 crashed in the same region, killing its entire crew of nine.

After his departure from Pisa Airport, the crew encountered very poor weather conditions with alto-cumulus, heavy snow falls and wind from the southeast up to 25 knots. Due to the wind, the aircraft went off course up to 50 km to the west, and due to poor visibility, the crew was unaware of this course deviation. The aircraft hit the slope of a mountain located near Trappa and was destroyed. SAR operations were conducted but eventually suspended few days later as no trace of the aircraft was found. On January 31st, 1948, Italian skiers found the wreckage of the aircraft and 20 dead bodies in an isolated area. According to some US military Officers, at least two passengers survived the crash but died few hours later.

Crashed in unknown circumstances in Quara, killing all five crew members.
Crew:
Cpl Sterling Harrelson,
S/Sgt Henry Nicholson Jr.,
2nd Lt Robert L. Polk Jr.,
T/Sgt William A. Rice,
1st Lt James A. Riley.

The crew was performing a training sortie from Pisa Airport. While cruising off Viareggio, the three-engine aircraft was mistakenly shot down by the crew of the German cargo ship christened 'Nicoline Maersk'. The aircraft crashed into the sea and was lost, killing all five crew members. Some debris of the wreckage were found in 1984.
Crew:
Ten Cipriani,
S/Ten Fasciani,
A/S Bufali,
A/S Cosana,
A/A Domanetti.