1940 Avio Linee Italiane Savoia-Marchetti S.M.73 crash

On 16 March 1940, a Savoia-Marchetti S.M.73 passenger aircraft, controlled by the Italian airline Avio Linee Italiane, crashed in the Forgia Vecchia area, on the island of Stromboli; all fourteen people on board were killed.

The accident

The aircraft was employed on the Tripoli-Palermo-Rome route. Having taken off from Tripoli at 6:00 on 16 March 1940, the S.M.73 aircraft (I-SUTO) arrived at Catania-Fontanarossa airport, instead of the planned one at Palermo, at 9:25, disembarking 4 passengers. The aircraft departed again at 10:10 bound for Naples-Capodichino airport, where it was due to land at 12:20. The weather forecast given on the route card handed to the aircraft was as follows: disturbed weather conditions owing to low clouds from 300 to 700 metres and thundery precipitation. Poor visibility. Rough sea.

The crew consisted of captain Guido Gartman, second pilot Mario Bonomi, flight engineer Antonio Trullo, and radio operator Romeo Palamara. The passengers were: Pasquale Argenziano, infantry second lieutenant, Uberto Benedetti, pilot second lieutenant, Litterio Calabretta, commendatore Giacomo Colombini, Leo Loi, reserve artillery second lieutenant, Mario Rossi, pilot lieutenant colonel, Francesco Paolo Russo, Domenico Scarinzi, artillery second lieutenant, Andrea Zotti, pilot lieutenant colonel, and his wife, and the writer Maria Assunta Giulia Volpi Nannipieri, a brilliant journalist, known by the pen name Mura.

At 10:55 the aircraft, which was flying through fog and heavy rain, struck the ground in a valley in the locality of Forgia Vecchia, south-west of the village, at an altitude of about metres 300 m and 600 m from a group of small houses called Contrada Scari. The aircraft struck the mountain spur in a steep climbing attitude, and broke up at three points about 50 metres apart from one another in a longitudinal line. At the first point were half of the fuselage and various wreckage, at the second point various wreckage of the engines, at the third point the other half of the fuselage and various wreckage; about a hundred metres to the left, as one looks from the beach towards the mountain, from the highest point, there was propeller wreckage.

The alarm over the aircraft's failure to arrive was raised with a telephone call from Littorio airport at 15:15, and rescue operations were immediately started. At the Maritime Commands of Messina and Naples maritime reconnaissance flights by seaplanes were arranged, and three torpedo boats were made to sail, two from Naples and the Pegaso from Messina.

The impact, heard from the village of Stromboli, had alerted the local carabinieri station, which was informed by petty officer Piraino of the Regia Marina signal station of the request for information about any sighting of the S.M.73 (serial I-SUTO). The rescuers set out at 17:30, and the wreck of the aircraft was sighted and reached by the first rescuers at 18:30. Two torpedo boats reached the island to help in the rescue, with the Simone Schiaffino carrying a special searchlight to help in the night rescue operations, but no survivor was found.

In the early hours of 17 March the praetor of Lipari, Dr. Francesco Mandara, arrived on the island, writes, authorised to go to the site by the King's prosecutor Castellani. Benito Mussolini was informed at 7:45 that same day by a telegram forwarded by the Ministry of Aeronautics to the Duce's private secretariat. Two days later the news is published in the Turin daily La Stampa, and then also appeared in the Spanish daily ABC, while General Alfredo Kindelán, informed of the event, left Palma de Mallorca to reach Rome accompanied by one of his daughters.