An instructor pilot and a teenage trainee died after their two-seater aircraft crashed in a national park.
The plane was located in a forested area by a fire brigade helicopter and another from the Air Force after disappearing from radar.
Both occupants – Col. Simone Mettini and Lorenzo Nucheli – were found dead inside the burning wreckage.
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The Italian Air Force T-260B trainer crashed within Circeo National Park near Sabaudia, south-east of Rome.
No one was on the ground in the area at the time of the crash on Wednesday (1 Oct) morning.
Born in Piombino and living in Aprilia, Mettini, 48, was Commander of the Air Force’s 70th Wing.
He joined in 1997 and had more than 4,000 flight hours to his name.
For over a year, he had been training future armed forces pilots at the Latina Air Base’s flight school.
He leaves behind a wife and two children.
Nucheli, 19, joined the Air Force Academy only in August, as reported by Need To Know.
Originally from Serrone, he was working towards his first military pilot licence.
Serrone’s mayor, Giancarlo Proietto, described him as “a bright, generous young man with a passion for flying”.
He added: “From a very young age, he showed selflessness and a strong sense of service, volunteering with Civil Protection and always ready to help and give his time to the community.”
Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said: “They say a pilot never dies – he just flies higher – but I cannot hide the deep sorrow I feel at this tragic news.”
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said: “My thoughts, and those of the Government, are with the families of the victims, the Air Force, and the entire Defence community.”
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