El Feteyat - Tobruk

The three engine aircraft left El Feteyat Airfield at 1700LT bound for Tobruk. Half way down, the crew informed ground he was about 160 km east of his departure point. While approaching Tobruk, the aircraft was hit by flak, went out of control and crashed in flames in the desert, some 60 km west of Tobruk. All nine occupants were killed, among them the Italian Minister of Aviation Italo Balbo. Crew: Marechal Italo Balbo, Pilot, Major Ottavio Frailich, copilot, Captain Gino Cappannini, flight engineer, Sergeant-Major Giuseppe Berti, radio navigator, Enrico Caretti, Lino Balbo, Claudio Brunelli, Nello Quilici, Cino Florio.

Flight / Schedule

El Feteyat - Tobruk

Registration

I-MANU

MSN

32040

Year of Manufacture

26

Date

June 28, 1940 at 05:30 PM

Type

CRASH

Flight Type

Survey / Patrol / Reconnaissance

Flight Phase

Flight

Crash Site

Plain, Valley

Crash Location

Tobruk Butnan (<U+0627><U+0644><U+0628><U+0637><U+0646><U+0627><U+0646>)

Region

Africa • Libya

Crash Cause

Terrorism act, Hijacking, Sabotage

Narrative Report

On June 28, 1940 at 05:30 PM, El Feteyat - Tobruk experienced a crash involving Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero, operated by Regia Aeronautica, with the event recorded near Tobruk Butnan (<U+0627><U+0644><U+0628><U+0637><U+0646><U+0627><U+0646>).

The flight was categorized as survey / patrol / reconnaissance and the reported phase was flight at a plain, valley crash site.

9 people were known to be on board, 9 fatalities were recorded, 0 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 100.0%.

Crew on board: 9, crew fatalities: 9, passengers on board: 0, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is terrorism act, hijacking, sabotage. The three engine aircraft left El Feteyat Airfield at 1700LT bound for Tobruk. Half way down, the crew informed ground he was about 160 km east of his departure point. While approaching Tobruk, the aircraft was hit by flak, went out of control and crashed in flames in the desert, some 60 km west of Tobruk. All nine occupants were killed, among them the Italian Minister of Aviation Italo Balbo. Crew: Marechal Italo Balbo, Pilot, Major Ottavio Frailich, copilot, Captain Gino Cappannini, flight engineer, Sergeant-Major Giuseppe Berti, radio navigator, Enrico Caretti, Lino Balbo, Claudio Brunelli, Nello Quilici, Cino Florio.

Aircraft reference details include registration I-MANU, MSN 32040, year of manufacture 26.

Fatalities

Total

9

Crew

9

Passengers

0

Other

0

Crash Summary

The three engine aircraft left El Feteyat Airfield at 1700LT bound for Tobruk. Half way down, the crew informed ground he was about 160 km east of his departure point. While approaching Tobruk, the aircraft was hit by flak, went out of control and crashed in flames in the desert, some 60 km west of Tobruk. All nine occupants were killed, among them the Italian Minister of Aviation Italo Balbo. Crew: Marechal Italo Balbo, Pilot, Major Ottavio Frailich, copilot, Captain Gino Cappannini, flight engineer, Sergeant-Major Giuseppe Berti, radio navigator, Enrico Caretti, Lino Balbo, Claudio Brunelli, Nello Quilici, Cino Florio.

Cause: Terrorism act, Hijacking, Sabotage

Occupants & Outcome

Crew On Board

9

Passengers On Board

0

Estimated Survivors

0

Fatality Rate

100.0%

Known people on board: 9

Operational Details

Schedule / Flight

El Feteyat - Tobruk

Flight Type

Survey / Patrol / Reconnaissance

Flight Phase

Flight

Crash Site

Plain, Valley

Region / Country

Africa • Libya

Aircraft Details

Registration

I-MANU

MSN

32040

Year of Manufacture

26

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