Italy: 5-year-old girl dies in military plane crash

A 5-year-old girl died Saturday when a military aerobatic patrol plane crashed during a training exercise near Turin in northern Italy, the defense ministry said. The crash occurred when a training aircraft, MB-339, crashed on take-off.

“Unfortunately hit a car”

“For reasons unknown at this time, the patrol had barely taken off when the aircraft piloted by Major Oscar del To lost altitude and crashed into the ground (…),” the ministry’s press release notes. “The pilot, just before impact, was able to eject. It is currently not possible to confirm the cause of the accident. One of the hypotheses considered in terms of the dynamics of the event is the impact of a bird during the first phase of take-off”, a situation called “bird strike”, adds the press release. “The fire that followed the impact of the device on the ground unfortunately affected a car carrying four people (…), causing A girl died and three other passengers in the vehicle were injured,” the press release concludes.

A seriously injured brother

The girl had accompanied her parents to watch flights by the Italian Air Force’s acrobatic patrol train for a scheduled flight the next day, but it was canceled following the crash. His nine-year-old brother was critically injured, while his two parents and the pilot were injured, but none of them were in critical condition, according to media reports.

(AFP)