1971 RAF Hercules crash

Aviation accident off the coast of Italy October 2019 March 2018 transp December 2025 1971 RAF Hercules crash Accident C-130 Hercules 1.jpg 200 A Hercules aircraft dropping paratroopers, similar to the aircraft which crashed 1971 11 9 yes Controlled flight into sea 171 2; miles west-south-west of Pisa Lockheed Hercules C.1 Chalk 4 No. 24 Squadron, Royal Air Force XV216 Pisa Airport, Pisa, Italy Villacidro, Sardinia, Italy 52 46 6 52 0 On 9 November 1971, a Royal Air Force Lockheed Hercules C.1 crashed into the sea off the coast of Livorno by Meloria shoal, Italy, killing all 46 passengers and 6 crew. http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19711109-0 Lockheed Hercules C.1 XV216 Pisa Aviation Safety Network 16 January 2014 At the time it was described by Italian officials as the worst military air disaster in Italy in peacetime.RAF Plane crashed in Italy, killing 52 Peter Nichols 10 November 1971 1 58321 Crash The Hercules serial number XV216, from RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire, was due to carry out an early morning parachute drop at Cagliari, Sardinia, as part of a large-scale joint training exercise called Coldstream. Ten aircraft were to be involved;aircraft I nine Hercules and one Hawker Siddeley Andover. Their order of takeoff was marked by a serial number, chalked onto the fuselage of each aircraft.Falciglia 2011, p. III. The Hercules known as Chalk 4 was the fourth of the 10 aircraft due to depart at fifteen-minute intervals from San Giusto military airport in Pisa, Italy. http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Memorial-Italy-Hercules-tragedy/story-11278142-detail/story.html Bristol Post Memorial in Italy to Hercules tragedy 14 November 2008 17 January 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20140121043239/http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Memorial-Italy-Hercules-tragedy/story-11278142-detail/story.html 21 January 2014 dead dmy-all The aircraft crashed near the Meloria rocks, four miles west of Livorno. At Pisa, the stream take-off was cancelled, another four aircraft had followed XV216 into the air but the last two were prevented from departing. All 52 on board were killed, they included five British aircrew from 24 Squadron, a British parachute jumping instructor from No. 1 Parachute Training School at RAF Abingdon and 46 Italian paratroopers from the Folgore Parachute Brigade.Halley 2001, p. 89 Recovery It was at first difficult to find the wreckage due to a persistent wind and low clouds. The wreckage was found lying in 200 ft of water, although small fragments had already been recovered, the salvage operation, which was hindered by the bad weather, was led by the Italian Navy.Flight International RAF aircraft lost 18 November 1971 839 http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1971/1971%20-%202507.html The cause of the accident was not found.Halley 1999, p. 225 Memorial right|thumb|upright|A memorial plaque in Livorno commemorates the accident. A memorial plaque was erected in Livorno in 2003 to commemorate the accident. On 21 November 2006, a memorial service was held in Pisa, attended by a delegation from No. 24 Squadron, current operators of the C-130J Hercules, and relatives of the lost crew members. http://www.lynehamvillage.com/news/lynehamraf/pisaanniv211106.html https://web.archive.org/web/20080907090639/http://www.lynehamvillage.com/news/lynehamraf/pisaanniv211106.html 7 September 2008 17 January 2014 35th Anniversary of the Hercules crash in Pisa LynehamVillage.com Notes Iaircraft: Five of the ten aircraft were from the Royal Air Force. References Sources Halley James Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents. 1999 Air-Britain (Historians) Litd Tunbridge Wells, Kent, United Kingdom 0-85130-290-4 Halley James Royal Air Force Aircraft XA100 to XZ999 Air-Britain 2001 0-85130-311-0 Falciglia, Aldo (November/December 2011). "Gesso quattro non-risponde" – La sciagura alle secche della Meloria. Folgore (Associazione Nazionale Paracadutisti d'Italia) (Nos. 11–12) 43.5478 N 10.2186 E source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_region:IT title Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1971 Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in Italy Category:1971 in Italy Category:Aviation accidents and incidents involving the Lockheed C-130 Hercules Category:Accidents and incidents involving Royal Air Force aircraft Category:November 1971 in Europe RAF Hercules crash