Two Italian Air Force pilots were killed on Tuesday when their planes collided in flight and crashed near Rome, Italy’s defense ministry announced.
The two U-208 training planes crashed near the Guidonia military airport, about 25 kilometers northeast of Rome, according to a statement quoted by the US agency AP. The accident happened during an exercise. There were no injuries on land.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has expressed her condolences to the families and colleagues of the pilots. “The news of the death of two Air Force pilots in a plane crash in Guidonia, near Rome, fills us with sadness”, said Meloni quoted by the French agency AFP. One of the pilots, age 48, had 6,000 hours of flight time, while the second, age 45, had 2,600 hours, the Defense Department said.
The U-208 is a light aircraft, with a single propulsion, that can carry up to four passengers in addition to the pilot at a maximum speed of 285 kilometers per hour. The reasons for the collision are not known.
The public prosecutor’s office in Tivoli, near Rome, opened an investigation into the causes of the accident and ordered an autopsy on the two bodies. The Air Force has also opened a separate investigation, according to AFP.
Source: DN
