Italian Air Force Jet Crashes Into School; 12 Killed
A burning Italian air force jet plowed into a trade school on the outskirts of this city Thursday, killing 12 students and injuring as many as 100 others, officials said. Many of the survivors jumped from windows to escape the flames and were injured.
The single-seat Macchi 326 trainer, on a flight from an air base near Verona, struck the rear of the Gaetano Salvemini Technical Institute, where 200 students between the ages of 14 and 18 were attending class.
The pilot had been trying to land in fields near the school after one of his engines caught fire, according to air force officials. He bailed out minutes before the crash.
“I was in class when I saw from the window that this plane was coming straight for us near the ground,” one student said. “I just had time to shout, ‘What is that man doing? He must be mad.’ ”
Officials said the 12 dead were all students in the classroom that was directly hit by the jet.
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