Alitalia Flight 112

Alitalia Flight 112 was a scheduled flight from Leonardo da Vinci Airport, in Rome, Italy, to Palermo International Airport in Palermo, Italy, with 115 on board. On 5 May 1972, the Douglas DC-8 crashed into Mount Longa, about 3 mi southwest of Palermo while on approach to the airport, killing all 115 passengers and crew onboard. Investigators believe that the crew had three miles visibility and did not adhere to the established vectors issued by air traffic control, while according to an independent investigation the accident was caused by an explosion on board.

It remains the deadliest single-aircraft disaster in Italy, and the second-deadliest behind the 2001 Linate Airport runway collision. The accident is the worst in Alitalia's history.

Accident

On 5 May 1972, the aircraft I-DIWB of Alitalia (a Douglas DC-8-43) started the flight AZ 112 from Rome to Palermo, taking off 36 minutes late. Captain Roberto Bartoli was in charge of the radio assistance, while First Officer Bruno Dini flew the aircraft. Gino Di Fiore served as the flight engineer.

The flight AZ 112 contacted Palermo Approach around 9:10 PM stating to be at 74 nmi from VOR (which is installed on Mount Gradara, above the municipality of Borgetto, with a frequency of 112.3 MHz, around 10 mi south of the airport of Punta Raisi). Control tower replied with meteorological data (five knot wind, five kilometer visibility, cumulus clouds at 1,700 feet and cirrus clouds at 20,000 feet) and then authorized the descent, instructing the aircraft to report their position when they reached an NDB radio beacon designated PRS at an altitude of 5,000 feet. The times and locations have been precisely recovered from the recorder of Rome Control, which had a time recorder, while Palermo Approach did not.

Commander Bartoli then made the following transmission to air traffic controller Sergeant Major Terrano:

Contact between flight AZ 112 and the control tower was lost, the only communication was in English between the DC-8 itself and an Ilyushin Il-18 that was waiting for take-off, the tower tried to contact AZ 112 but received no response. Around 10:23–24 PM, the aircraft (coming from Ponente-lato Terrasini) hit a crest 935 meters (1,980 feet) high, about 300 ft below the top of the mountain, and slid for a long time on the ground with its wings, its fuselage, and its four engines, until it disintegrated in the successive hits against the rocks of the crest. Part of the debris and bodies of the victims rolled on the mountain side (Carini side) from where the kerosene fire was witnessed. The wreckage was strewn across a 2.5 mi area, so wide it took rescue teams three hours to reach it. Later on, some witnesses at Carini said that they had seen the aircraft on fire before the crash.

The crash occurred on the 26th anniversary of Alitalia.

A memorial has been erected at the site of the crash.