Country
code

Piedmont

Crash of a Piper PA-31T-500 Cheyenne I near Borgo Ticino: 5 killed

Date & Time: Mar 26, 1984 at 1220 LT
Type of aircraft:
Registration:
D-IOFC
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Klagenfurt – Ascona
MSN:
31-7804011
YOM:
1978
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
4
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
The twin engine airplane departed Klagenfurt, Austria, on a private flight to Ascona, Ticino, Switzerland. While passing over the Milan-Malpensa Airport, the pilot encountered poor weather conditions and requested to ATC a clearance to modify his route. Few minutes later, the aircraft struck the slope of a mountain located near Borgo Ticino, about 53 km southwest of Ascona Airport. The aircraft was destroyed and all five occupants were killed.

Crash of a Partenavia P.68B in Cisterna d'Asti: 5 killed

Date & Time: Aug 22, 1982
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
I-IEAB
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Site:
MSN:
110
YOM:
1977
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
4
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
Crashed in unknown circumstances onto a house located in Cisterna d'Asti and burst into flames. All five occupants were killed.

Crash of a Fokker F28 Fellowship 1000 in Torino: 38 killed

Date & Time: Jan 1, 1974 at 1238 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
I-TIDE
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Cagliari - Bologna - Torino
MSN:
11015
YOM:
1969
Flight number:
IH897
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
38
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
38
Aircraft flight hours:
8712
Aircraft flight cycles:
10206
Circumstances:
The approach to Torino-Caselle Airport was initiated in marginal weather with limited visibility due to foggy conditions and snow falls. On final, the flight crew failed to realize his altitude was insufficient when the airplane struck successively a tree and a building under construction before crashing in flames. The aircraft came to rest upside down about 3,7 km short of runway 36 threshold. A crew member and three passengers were rescued while 38 other occupants were killed. At the time of the accident, the RVR for runway 36 was 900 meters.

Crash of a Beechcraft King Air A90 near Saluzzo: 6 killed

Date & Time: Sep 22, 1967 at 0205 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
D-ILNI
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Frankfurt – Nice
MSN:
LJ-116
YOM:
1966
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
4
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
The twin engine aircraft was performing a charter flight from Frankfurt to Nice, carrying a crew of two and four passengers, among them the German Industrialist Harald Quandt, owner of BMW. While cruising by night over Italy, the airplane went out of control, dove into the ground and crashed in a mountainous area located southwest of Saluzzo, Piedmont. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all six occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
The exact cause of the accident could not be determined. However, the assumption that the loss of control was caused by the failure of the electric system was not ruled out.

Crash of a Pilatus PC-6/340-H2 Porter in Castelnuovo di Ceva: 8 killed

Date & Time: Apr 25, 1966 at 1830 LT
Operator:
Registration:
I-CONA
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Albenga - Aosta
MSN:
537
YOM:
1962
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
7
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
8
Circumstances:
The single engine aircraft departed Albenga Airport at the end of the afternoon on a return flight to Aosta, carrying seven passengers and the pilot, the Italian politician Corrado Gex. While approaching Castelnuovo di Ceva, weather conditions worsened and the visibility was limited due to low clouds. While cruising at low height, the airplane struck trees and crashed onto a hill, killing all eight occupants.

Crash of a De Havilland DH.106 Comet 4C on Mt Matto: 18 killed

Date & Time: Mar 20, 1963 at 0323 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
SA-R-7
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Geneva – Nice
MSN:
6461
YOM:
1962
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
10
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
18
Circumstances:
The four engine aircraft was completing a flight from Geneva to Nice, carrying eight crew members and ten members of the Saudi Royal Family. While cruising by night above the Alps and along the border between France and Italy, the crew was in communication with ATC based in Aix-en-Provence and was instructed to descent to 10,000 feet when the airplane struck the slope of Mt Matto located 28 km southwest of Cuneo. The wreckage was found a day later and all 18 occupants have been killed.

Crash of a Nord 2501D Noratlas on Mt Argentera: 6 killed

Date & Time: Mar 15, 1960
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
GA+249
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Nuremberg – Stuttgart – Torino
MSN:
60
YOM:
1955
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
While cruising in poor weather conditions, the airplane struck Mt Argentera (3,297 meters high) located in the Italian Alps. The wreckage was found a week later, on March 22 on the west slope of the mountain. The airplane was destroyed and all six crew members have been killed. It is believed the aircraft was off course at the time of the accident, maybe following a navigation error.

Crash of a Lockheed P2V-7 Neptune on Mt Granero: 9 killed

Date & Time: Jul 21, 1957
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
140156
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
MSN:
726-7059
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
10
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
9
Circumstances:
The crew was taking part to a SAR mission following the disappearance two days earlier of another USN Netpune. En route, the airplane struck the slope of Mt Granero (3,170 meters high) located near the French border, Piedmont. A crew member was rescued while nine others were killed.

Crash of a Douglas C-47A-90-DL near Limone Piemonte: 21 killed

Date & Time: Oct 24, 1954 at 1750 LT
Operator:
Registration:
43-16044
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Rome – Lyon – Manston
MSN:
20510
YOM:
1944
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
18
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
21
Circumstances:
The aircraft left Rome-Ciampino Airport in the afternoon on a flight to Manston, Kent, with an intermediate stop at Lyon-Bron Airport. While cruising at an altitude of 8,500 feet over the Italian Alps, the crew encountered poor weather conditions when the airplane hit the slope of a mountain at 1750LT. As it failed to arrive in Lyon, SAR operations were conducted but the wreckage was found a week later only in an isolated area located about 12 km west of Limone Piemonte, east of the Argentera Mountain Range. The aircraft was destroyed upon impact and all 21 occupants have been killed.
Probable cause:
It was determined that the crew failed to prepare the flight properly and according to procedures. For unknown reason, the altitude mentioned on the flight plan was 8,200 feet, which is insufficient to pass over the Alps. A gap of 13 degrees was also noted on the heading (flight path), maybe due to the fact that the crew mistook the Poretta and Bastia beacons, close to each other. Also, it was noted that a wind was blowing at 45 knots from the southwest, which probably contributed to deviate the aircraft from the prescribed flight path.

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

Date & Time: May 4, 1949 at 1704 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
I-ELCE
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Lisbon – Barcelona – Turin
MSN:
05
YOM:
1947
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
27
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
31
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.