Two Italian Air Force pilots were tragically killed in a mid-air collision during training exercises near the Guidonia Air Base, roughly 25 kilometres northwest of Rome.
The exercises were being conducted in lightweight SIAI-Marchetti S.208 training aircraft — single-engine vehicles capable of carrying up to five individuals including the pilot. The planes have a top speed of 285 kilometres per hour, DW reported.
No cause was given for the collision, nor were any injuries reported on the ground.
Incidente aereo #Guidonia. pic.twitter.com/DHTEtjfs0N
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Italy's ANSA news agency said one plane fell onto a parked car while the other landed in a field.
Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni expressed her condolences to the family and friends of the pilots as well as to the Air Force.
"We are devastated to hear about the deaths of two Air Force pilots during a training exercise near Guidonia," said the politician.
One of the two aircraft fell onto a street below onto a parked car infront of what appeared in footage of the aftermath of the crash to be a residential building.
La Repubblica reported that the pilot was still alive after the plane crashed and started yelling for help. Bystanders were going to put out the flames with a fire extinguisher, but the engine exploded before they could, the newspaper reported.
The second landed in an open field, photographs from the crash site showed.
Two buildings were evacuated as a result of the crash, and the two areas were blocked off by rescue workers who checked whether there were any other passers-by on the street or field at the time of the two crashes.
Photographs and video emerged from both crash sites. Footage from the first crash site on the street showed a burning car, and firefighters working to extinguish it.
In a second clip, white foam - used by firefighters to extinguish flames - covered the road and pavements. The car still burned and smoke billowed into the sky.
Images from the field where the second plane crashed showed a wreckage lying in the middle of a grassy space. The tail of the plane was still distinguishable, but the rest of the aircraft was a mangled wreckage on the ground.
'We are devastated to hear about the deaths of two Air Force pilots during a training accident near Guidonia,' Meloni said. The prime minister sent her condolences to the families of the pilots and to members of the Air Force.
'I express my deepest condolences and my closeness to the families, colleagues of the 60th Wing and the entire of the Air Force. Our prayers go out to them,' she said.
The two pilots were named as Lieutenant Colonel Giuseppe Cipriano, 47, and Major Marco Meneghello, 46. Both were stationed at the Guidonia air base.
Police at the scene where one of the planes crashed onto a street told local reporters that Tivoli prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into the crash.
The Air Force Inspectorate have also ordered an investigation.
Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera said four propeller-driven aircraft had taken off from the Guidonia military airport for a training flight in the nearby countryside.
It remains to be clarified why they were over the town.
The two pilots from the other two aircraft will be questioned later today.
The U-208 is a lightweight, single-engine aircraft that can carry up to four passengers, plus the pilot, and has a top speed of 177mph.
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