Military jet crashes near Lecco, 1 pilot dead, another seriously injured
Fireball seen on mountainside, dead pilot British
Redazione Ansa
(ANSA) - ROME, MAR 16 -
An Italian military training jet crashed near Lecco on Wednesday killing one pilot, a Briton, and injuring the other. The plane, a Leonardo Aermacchi T-346, crashed on the highest mountain in the province of Lecco, Monte Legnone, on the border with the provinces of Sondrio and Bergamo, and one British pilot is dead and the other in serious condition after ejecting from the craft close to the mountainside. Witnesses said they had seen a fireball crash against the side of the mountain, which is 2,609 metres high, on the Lecco side, overlooking the mountain town of Pagnona. A dense column of smoke was visible for kilometres. The plane does not belong to the Italian air force. It had flown before and was on a pilot training run, sources said. The jet had set off from a military base at Venegono near Varese.