A Frecce Tricolori Aermacchi MB-339 jet crashes into a car after takeoff killing a 5-Year-Old Girl on the ground.
The jet crashed shortly after the takeoff from Turin-Caselle airport in formation headed to Vercelli, where it should have performed an aerial exhibition.
For reasons yet to be ascertained the aircraft piloted by Major Oscar Del Do’ lost altitude and crashed into the ground. The pilot successfully ejected before impact. He is currently being treated for burns at Giovanni Bosco Hospital in Turin.
Unfortunately, the MB-339 hit a car traveling on a road just outside the perimeter fence: a 5-year-old girl was killed, and her mother, father, and 9-year-old brother were injured according to the reports.
Footage of the accident shows the aircraft “Pony 4”, an Aermacchi MB-339, breaking off from the formation and descending towards the ground as it flew over an airfield north of Turin.
Photos of the aftermath show the wreckage of the plane in a cornfield, and a burned and wrecked car overturned on the side of a road.
The Italian Air Force is investigating whether the aircraft suffered a bird strike shortly before the crash causing the single-engine aircraft to lose power.
The Frecce Tricolori aerobatic jets, part of the Italian Air Force, were practicing a formation ahead of the 100-year celebrations of the Italian Air Force that are set to take place Sunday.
The Frecce Tricolori has a mixed safety record since being involved in the Ramstein Air Base disaster which saw three of its jets collide in mid-air killing 67 people on the ground and the three pilots.
