"I saw a fireball in the sky": two dead in aircraft crash in Italy
The light aircraft apparently struck cables of a cable car used to operate a dam in northern Italy, caught fire in the air, and crashed near an artificial lake in a mountainous area. The 62-year-old pilot and a 63-year-old passenger were killed on the spot. Authorities have opened an investigation into the circumstances of the accident and are checking the flight path and the permits granted to it.
The accident occurred yesterday, Wednesday, around 11:10 in the Antrona Valley in the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, at an altitude of about 1,400 meters. Contrary to initial reports of a helicopter crash, it was a two-seater autogyro — a light aircraft equipped with an overhead rotor that is not driven directly by the engine.
According to reports in Italy, the aircraft struck the cables of a cable car used to operate the Campliccioli dam. Following the impact, it caught fire, lost altitude, and crashed while engulfed in flames. The two people on board were killed on the spot.
The victims are the pilot Alessandro Angelo Musinelli, a 62-year-old engineer from the town of Premono, and Antonella Pagliarani, 63, from Milan. According to the Italian newspaper "Corriere della Sera", Pagliarani was the partner of the pilot's brother.
"It was 11:10. I was watching what was happening from the balcony of my house," the mayor of the town of Antrona Schieranco, Franco Borsotti, told the Italian news agency ANSA. "The aircraft was in the air, and then I saw a fireball in the sky."
Rescue forces, firefighters, and police were called to the scene, but it was not possible to save the two passengers. Authorities have opened an investigation into the circumstances of the accident and are checking the flight path, the impact with the cables, and whether the aircraft had the necessary permits to fly over the protected area. Footage published in the Italian media shows the moment of impact and the burning aircraft plummeting to the ground.
