Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said two Italian Air Force pilots died late Tuesday morning when their planes collided in flight near Rome.
“We are saddened by the news of the death of two Air Force pilots in a plane crash at Guidonia near Rome,” she said in a statement, expressing condolences to her families and the Air Force.
The two pilots were on board two U-208 training aircraft, the Air Force said in a statement.
One of the two pilots, 48, has 6,000 flight hours on his account, the second, 45, 2,600, the Ministry of Defense said.
The U-208 aircraft is a light single-propeller aircraft capable of carrying a maximum of four passengers in addition to the pilot, with a maximum speed of 285 km/h.
Photo MASSIMO PERCOSSI / ANSA / AFP
The reasons for the collision are currently unknown.
The public prosecutor’s office in Tivoli near Rome initiated investigations into the causes of this accident and ordered the autopsy of the two bodies. The Air Force has also launched an investigation separate from Tivoli.