What happened
During a flight from Rome to Foggia, an aircraft was cruising at 15,000 feet amidst marginal weather conditions. While navigating through an area containing thunderstorms, the plane experienced a sudden drop in airspeed of 30 knots and a simultaneous loss of 1,200 feet in altitude. The aircraft's nose pitched down to an angle of 20 degrees, leading to a high-speed impact at 340 knots. The crash occurred in an open field situated approximately 75 km southeast of Rome, near the town of Frosinone.
The impact forces resulted in the total destruction of the plane. There were 18 fatalities among the occupants, with no survivors reported. At the time of the incident, the flight crew consisted of a pilot, a co-pilot, and a flight engineer.
Findings
Official analysis of the flight recorder indicates that investigators could not establish a definitive cause for the accident. However, evidence suggests that severe atmospheric turbulence related to thunderstorm activity likely triggered the loss of control.