Italy | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

While flying in foggy conditions, the twin engine aircraft hit the slope of Mt Nerone located 4 km south of Piobbico. All three crew members were killed.
Crew:
Mr. Fasano, pilot,
Col De Qual,
Cpt Matera.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.70 Halifax VIII in Brindisi

Date & Time: Jan 20, 1950

Type of aircraft:

Handley Page H.P.70 Halifax VIII

Operator:

Registration:

G-AITC

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Cargo

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

MSN:

1381

YOM:

1946

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

Crash landed for unknown reason. All six crew members were uninjured.

Crash of a Beechcraft C-45F Expeditor in Padova

Date & Time: Jan 10, 1950

Type of aircraft:

Beechcraft C-45 Expeditor

Operator:

Registration:

MM61704

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Military

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

MSN:

7215

YOM:

1944

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

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Circumstances:

Shortly after takeoff from Padova-Brusegana Airfield, while climbing, the pilot in command was forced to attempt an emergency landing for unknown reason. The aircraft crash landed in a field and came to rest. There were no casualties.

Explosion of a CRDA CANT Z.506 on Lake of Bracciano: 1 killed

Date & Time: Nov 11, 1949

Type of aircraft:

CRDA CANT Z.506 Airone

Operator:

Registration:

MM45484

Flight Phase:

Parking

Flight Type:

Military

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

While parked on Lake of Bracciano, the aircraft caught fire when the central engine exploded. A crew member, F/O Canosci, was killed.

Probable cause:

Engine explosion.

Crash of a Lockheed L-749-79-33 Constellation off Bari: 33 killed

Date & Time: Jun 23, 1949 at 1055 LT

Type of aircraft:

Lockheed L-749 Constellation

Operator:

Registration:

PH-TER

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Jakarta – Port-Louis – Cairo – Amsterdam

MSN:

2541

YOM:

1947

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The four engine aircraft christened 'Roermond' left Cairo Airport at 0508LT bound for Amsterdam with an ETA at 1445LT. While cruising along the east Italian coast at an altitude of 5,000 meters, the airplane went out of control and entered into a dive. During the near vertical descent, the tail broke off, the aircraft came upside down and eventually crashed into the Adriatic Sea, some 1,5 to 2 km off shore, near Bari. The wreckage sank by 35 meters deep and only few debris were found. All 33 occupants were killed.
Crew:
Johan Cornelis (Hans) Plesman, pilot (son of Albert Plesman, Director of KLM),
Jacobus Tuyt, pilot,
Jan van Kuyk, pilot,
Albert George Modard, pilot,
Leendert Post, radio operator,
Jacques Marinus Willem Hout, radio operator,
Dirk Martinus Grandia, flight engineer,
Johan Albert van der Meer, flight engineer,
Pieter Jelles Overbeek, steward,
Cornelia Antoinette Timmermans, stewardess,
Jan Hendrik Ross, cooker.

Probable cause:

As only few debris were found, investigations were unable to determine the exact cause of the accident. Nevertheless, it was the opinion of the experts that the loss of control may have been caused by a failure of the automatic pilot system.

Crash of a Fiat G.212CP in Torino: 31 killed

Date & Time: May 4, 1949 at 1704 LT

Type of aircraft:

Fiat G.212

Operator:

Registration:

I-ELCE

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Charter/Taxi (Non Scheduled Revenue Flight)

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Lisbon – Barcelona – Turin

MSN:

YOM:

1947

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The three engine aircraft was completing a charter flight from Lisbon to Torino with an intermediate stop in Barcelona, carrying the Torino AC soccer team and its staff back to Torino after a friendly match in Portugal. The airplane left Lisbon at 0952LT and Barcelona Airport at 1315LT. After an uneventful flight, the crew started the descent to Torino-Aeritalia Airport in poor weather conditions with clouds down to 400 meters and an horizontal visibility estimated at 1,200 meters. Due to the poor visibility, the pilot did not realize he was flying to low when the aircraft hit the Mt Superga (675 meters high) and crashed on the east wall of the basilica, about 12 km from the runway 28 threshold. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and all 31 occupants were killed.
Crew:
Pierluigi Meroni, pilot,
Antonio Pangrazi,
Celestino D'Inca,
Cesare Biancardi.
Passengers:
Valerio Bacigalupo, player,
Aldo Ballarin, player,
Dino Ballarin, player,
Émile Bongiorni, player,
Eusebio Castigliano, player,
Rubens Fadini, player,
Guglielmo Gabetto, player,
Roger Grava, player,
Giuseppe Grezar, player,
Ezio Loik, player,
Virgilio Maroso, player,
Danilo Martelli, player,
Valentino Mazzola, player,
Romeo Menti, player,
Piero Operto, player,
Franco Ossola, player,
Mario Rigamonti, player,
Giulio Schubert, player,
Arnaldo Agnisetta, director,
Ippolito Civalleri, director,
Egri Erbstein, coach,
Leslie Lievesley, coach,
Ottavio Corina, masseur,
Renato Casalbore, journalist at Tuttosport,
Luigi Cavallero, journalist at La Stampa,
Renato Tosatti, journalist at Gazzetta del Popolo,
Andrea Bonaiuti, organizer.

Probable cause:

Navigational error on part of the crew who did not realize he lost more than 1,000 meters during the last minutes. This navigational error was attributable to the poor weather conditions that influenced the direction finder system. Poor visibility and lack of suitable assistance on part of the ATC were considered as a contributory factor.

Crash of a Fiat G.212 in Tor Sapienza: 1 killed

Date & Time: Apr 9, 1949 at 1315 LT

Type of aircraft:

Fiat G.212

Operator:

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Guidonia - Guidonia

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The crew was engaged in a test flight. Shortly after takeoff from Guidonia AFB, the pilot encountered control problems and decided to attempt an emergency landing. The aircraft belly landed in a field located in Tor Sapienza, about 15 km southwest of Guidonia. On ground, the aircraft slid for several yards and hit a boy aged 11. While all five crew members were uninjured, the boy was killed and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Crash of a Douglas C-47A-15-DK in Monte Argentario: 13 killed

Date & Time: Dec 31, 1948 at 1752 LT

Type of aircraft:

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

Operator:

Pan African Air Charter

Registration:

ZS-BYX

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Charter/Taxi (Non Scheduled Revenue Flight)

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Athens – Nice

MSN:

12587

YOM:

1944

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

While flying over the Ligurian Sea en route from Athens to Nice, the crew encountered poor weather conditions and the captain decided to divert to Rome-Ciampino. The aircraft overflew the Orbetello lagoon and then went through low clouds when it hit the slope of a mountain located near Monte Argentario. The aircraft was destroyed and all 13 occupants were killed. The airplane was performing a charter flight on behalf of the British operator Scott Gordon Aviator.

Probable cause:

The accident was the result of a controlled flight into terrain. Poor visibility caused by low clouds was considered as a contributory factor.

Crash of a Douglas C-47-DL in Milan: 7 killed

Date & Time: Dec 6, 1948 at 1030 LT

Type of aircraft:

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

Operator:

Registration:

I-ETNA

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Schedule:

Milan – Brussels

MSN:

4396

YOM:

1942

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

Shortly after takeoff from Milan-Linate Airport, while climbing in foggy conditions, the aircraft went out of control and crashed near the runway end, bursting into flames. All seven occupants were killed. The assumption of an engine failure is not ruled out.

Crash of a Lockheed 18-08 LodeStar off Elbe Island: 8 killed

Date & Time: Oct 29, 1948

Type of aircraft:

Lockheed 18 LodeStar

Operator:

R.A. Brand & Company

Registration:

G-AKPD

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Executive/Corporate/Business

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Croydon – Rome

MSN:

1429

YOM:

1948

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

En route from Croydon to Rome, the aircraft disappeared into the Tyrrhenian Sea and the crew was unable to send any distress call. As the aircraft failed to arrive, SAR operations were conducted. After few hours, Italian Authorities sent an official request to France and Switzerland to ask if the aircraft may have crash on their territory but no trace of the aircraft was found. All operations were suspended after few days. On November 13, 1948, few debris were found floating on the sea few km off Elbe Island. No trace of the eight occupants was found.

Probable cause:

Due to lack of evidence, it was not possible to determine the exact cause of the accident.

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