A close call for the Frecce Tricolori
May 7, 2025
The Italian Frecce Tricolori (three-coloured arrows) aerobatic team is officially known as the 313° Gruppo Addestramento Acrobatico, Pattuglia Acrobatica Nazionale (PAN) Frecce Tricolori (313th Aerobatic Training Group, National Aerobatic Team (PAN) Frecce Tricolori).
Shortly after the formation split into two five aircraft formations, one of which then split into a four ship and a solo aircraft. The four aircraft from this second section, the so-called ‘rombetto’, were inverted when two aircraft collided, one of them then hitting a third aircraft.
The three damaged aircraft recovered (one after what looked like the beginning of a spin) and all landed at Pantelleria airport, while the remainder of the team landed back at Trapani on the island of Sicily.
‘Pony 8’ landed with a nosewheel problem, coming off the runway and going down a grassy slope. The pilot of this aircraft, Luca Battistoni, aged 32, reportedly sustained minor knee injuries and was taken to the hospital. ‘Pony 6’ landed with the tip of its fin missing, and ‘Pony 9’ with a portion of the tailfin leading edge missing.
The Italian Air Force subsequently said that: “an abnormal separation of the formation during the cardioid maneuver forced the interruption of the aerobatic programme. Four aircraft from the second section, the so-called “rombetto”, demonstrated mastery of procedures and separated from the rest of the formation. Three of these then landed uneventfully at Pantelleria Airport. The remaining aircraft returned to the military airport of Trapani.
“During landing in Pantelleria, one aircraft, due to a technical issue affecting nosewheel controllability, veered off the runway at the end of its ground deceleration run. The pilot was unharmed.”
