Italy investigates if acrobatic plane struck birds before crash, killing child on ground
- A 5-year-old girl was killed when an Italian air force plane crashed during an acrobatic exercise near Turin
- Shortly before it hit the ground, the pilot ejected and survived. Investigations continue into the incident
The Italian Air Force said it was investigating whether an aircraft of its acrobatic team struck birds before it crashed near an airport, killing a child on the ground.
A 5-year-old girl and her family were travelling in a car near the perimeter of the airport near the northern city of Turin when the aircraft crashed on Saturday afternoon, bursting into flames and smashing through the airport fence.
The girl’s mother and older brother remained hospitalised for treatment of burns while the father was released on Sunday, hospital officials said.
Video of the crash shows nine aircraft in two tight V-formations, before one of the aircraft drops below the others and crashes, sending a fireball into the air.
In the video, the pilot – identified as Major Oscar Del Do – can be seen ejecting with a parachute shortly before impact inside a fence airfield. He suffered burns.
The Italian Air Force said the reason for the crash was under investigation, but said one hypothesis was that the aircraft suffered a bird strike during takeoff. Italian prosecutors were also investigating.