A jet belonging to the Italian Air Force aerobatic team crashed this Saturday 16 near the city of Turin, in the north of the country, killing a fiveyearold child after colliding with the car in which he was traveling. The girl and her family were in the vehicle near the airport premises when the plane collided with the ground, caught fire and broke through the airport fence.
The girl’s mother and older brother remain hospitalized for treatment of burns, while her father was discharged on Sunday, hospital officials said.
The Italian Air Force is investigating whether the plane hit birds before it crashed. Images of the crash show nine jets in two V formations before one of the planes fell below the others and collided, sending a fireball into the air.
The pilot, identified as Major Oscar Del Do, was parachuted shortly before impact. He suffered burns.
The Frecce Tricolori squadron, Italy’s leading aerobatic pilot team, was preparing for an air show planned for this Sunday as part of events marking the 100th anniversary of the Italian Air Force.
They typically perform aerobatic flyovers at events of national importance, leaving trails of red, green and white smoke the colors of the Italian flag. It is similar to the Smoke Squadron in Brazil.
In 1988, three Frecce Tricolori jets collided and crashed to the ground during an air show at Ramstein Air Base in Germany attended by around 300,000 people. The three pilots and 67 people on the ground were killed. Hundreds more suffered injuries.
(With Associated Press)