Italian Frecce Tricolori crashed at Pantelleria today
Discussion
[from Reddit]
during a flight today at Pantelleria, 3 Frecce Tricolori (Italian Aerobatic display team) collided mid-air.
Still preliminary info, but seems a bird strike on a plane (there's a puff of smoke coming from one), then two and later a third collide during aerobatics.
Fortunately, all 3 planes were able to land. One with the nose damaged (pictures), another with the wing damaged and the final one stopped at the end of the runway.
According to this (https://www.fanpage.it/attualita/frecce-tricolori-schianto-fuori-pista-nello-scalo-di-pantelleria-soccorso-il-pilota/) only one pilot seems to have been taken to the hospital, but in good conditions with light injuries.
Video of the collision: https://www.lastampa.it/cronaca/2025/05/06/video/f...
Video of the damaged plane:
https://www.lastampa.it/cronaca/2025/05/06/news/pa...
during a flight today at Pantelleria, 3 Frecce Tricolori (Italian Aerobatic display team) collided mid-air.
Still preliminary info, but seems a bird strike on a plane (there's a puff of smoke coming from one), then two and later a third collide during aerobatics.
Fortunately, all 3 planes were able to land. One with the nose damaged (pictures), another with the wing damaged and the final one stopped at the end of the runway.
According to this (https://www.fanpage.it/attualita/frecce-tricolori-schianto-fuori-pista-nello-scalo-di-pantelleria-soccorso-il-pilota/) only one pilot seems to have been taken to the hospital, but in good conditions with light injuries.
Video of the collision: https://www.lastampa.it/cronaca/2025/05/06/video/f...
Video of the damaged plane:
https://www.lastampa.it/cronaca/2025/05/06/news/pa...
Fortunate that the outcome wasn’t more serious.
And only a month after two Patrouille de France Alphas had a ‘mid-air’.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aGDLZ1uU0lc
And only a month after two Patrouille de France Alphas had a ‘mid-air’.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aGDLZ1uU0lc
Blancolirio commentary:
As per Juan, looks like the lead of the second element let the speed bleed off, marginal control authority in close formation is a recipe for bad things and lots of paint was exchanged between airframes. Given some of the excursions from some of those aircraft I'm amazed they all held it together and came home mostly intact.
I remember flying a loop in a vic of Yaks on one of the North Weald formation weeks back in the day - 2005 or 2006 - when the lead out of habit floated at the top instead of keeping a modicum of G in and flying a granny loop, result was myself in #2 and the #3 (husband of the lead) deciding pretty much simultaneously it wasn't happening and rolled out on either side - apparently it looked like quite a nice fleur-de-lis, but it certainly wasn't what we'd briefed.
As per Juan, looks like the lead of the second element let the speed bleed off, marginal control authority in close formation is a recipe for bad things and lots of paint was exchanged between airframes. Given some of the excursions from some of those aircraft I'm amazed they all held it together and came home mostly intact.
I remember flying a loop in a vic of Yaks on one of the North Weald formation weeks back in the day - 2005 or 2006 - when the lead out of habit floated at the top instead of keeping a modicum of G in and flying a granny loop, result was myself in #2 and the #3 (husband of the lead) deciding pretty much simultaneously it wasn't happening and rolled out on either side - apparently it looked like quite a nice fleur-de-lis, but it certainly wasn't what we'd briefed.
Gassing Station | Boats, Planes & Trains | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff