Aircraft

A Lockheed Martin C-130J transport from the Italian air force’s 46th Air Brigade crashed immediately after performing a touch and go landing during a routine training sortie from Pisa at around 14:10 local time on 23 November, killing the two pilots and three other personnel onboard.

Initial eyewitness reports were contradictory, with some saying the C-130J started to roll before diving, and others reporting to have seen a fire on board immediately after take-off.

Another source says an EasyJet Airbus A319 was circling Pisa airport while the C-130J climbed, with the Hercules having been seen to make a right turn before hitting the ground and catching fire. It crashed on a nearby railway line, with an oncoming train having managed to stop before reaching the point of impact. The aircraft’s wreckage was spread within an area with a radius of about 150m (490ft).

© Sprucemoose Gallery on flightglobal.com/AirSpace
An Italian C-130J pictured at the 2009 Royal International Air Tattoo

No further information has been made available, but the Italian air force has established a commission to investigate the cause of the accident. The service had a fleet of 22 C-130Js, including 10 stretched-fuselage -30s, prior to the accident. Deliveries took place between 2000 and 2004, according to Flight's MiliCAS database.