Expand / Collapse search
Watch TV
Menu

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2023 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.

World
Published

2 pilots killed in northern Italy as prototype aircraft seen exploding in midair

Associated Press
Rescue teams operate in the area where an aircraft crashed in a mid-air incident, in Santhia, near Vercelli, Italy, Friday, Oct. 30, 2015. The AgustaWestland helicopter maker says that a prototype of one of its aircraft was involved in a mid-air accident that killed both occupants in northern Italy. (Roberto Maggio/ANSA via AP) ITALY OUT

Rescue teams operate in the area where an aircraft crashed in a mid-air incident, in Santhia, near Vercelli, Italy, Friday, Oct. 30, 2015. The AgustaWestland helicopter maker says that a prototype of one of its aircraft was involved in a mid-air accident that killed both occupants in northern Italy. (Roberto Maggio/ANSA via AP) ITALY OUT (The Associated Press)

MILAN – Two pilots were killed in northern Italy in an accident involving a prototype by AgustaWestland on Friday, the manufacturer said in a statement.

The AW609 tiltrotor prototype crashed during a test flight in the Piedmont region Friday morning after taking off from an AgustaWestland facility north of Milan.

The pilots were identified as Herbert Moran, a former U.S. Marine living in Italy, and Italian Pietro Venanzi.

According to witness accounts, the plane exploded in midair before crashing to the ground in the countryside near the city of Vercelli, news agency ANSA reported.

The company's website calls the AW609 "a game changer" that combines the vertical takeoff of helicopters with the fixed-wing and rotary-wing flight of airplanes. It remains in development, with certification expected at the end of 2017.

AgustaWestland, which is owned by the Italian defense contractor Finmeccanica, says it is cooperating with authorities to determine the cause, and expressed "deepest sympathies" for the pilots' families.