 The three aircraft colliding | |
| Collision | |
|---|---|
| Date | August 28, 1988 |
| Summary | Mid-air collision |
| Site | USAF Ramstein Air Base Rhineland-Palatinate West Germany 49°26′18″N 007°36′13″E / 49.43833°N 7.60361°E |
| Total fatalities | 70 |
| Total injuries | 502 |
| First aircraft | |
| Type | Aermacchi MB-339PAN |
| Name | Callsign "Pony 10" |
| Operator | Frecce Tricolori Aeronautica Militare |
| Crew | Lt. Col. Ivo Nutarelli (killed) |
| Second aircraft | |
| Type | Aermacchi MB-339PAN |
| Name | Callsign "Pony 1" |
| Operator | Frecce Tricolori Aeronautica Militare |
| Crew | Lt. Col. Mario Naldini (killed) |
| Third aircraft | |
| Type | Aermacchi MB-339PAN |
| Name | Callsign "Pony 2" |
| Operator | Frecce Tricolori Aeronautica Militare |
| Crew | Cpt. Giorgio Alessio (killed) |
| Ground casualties | |
| Ground fatalities | 67 |
| Ground injuries | 500 |
The Ramstein air show disaster occurred on Sunday, 28 August 1988 during the Flugtag '88 airshow at USAF Ramstein Air Base near Kaiserslautern, West Germany. Three aircraft of the Italian Air Force display team collided during their display, crashing to the ground in front of a crowd of about 300,000 people. There were 70 fatalities (67 spectators and 3 pilots), and 346 spectators sustained serious injuries in the resulting explosion and fire. Hundreds more had minor injuries.[1] At the time, it was the deadliest air show accident in history until a 2002 crash at the Sknyliv air show that killed 77.[2]
- ^ 1988 Ramstein air crash stirs memories Archived 2011-08-26 at the Wayback Machine, www.stripes.com
- ^ "4 held over worst air show crash". Archived from the original on 3 April 2013. Retrieved 24 March 2011.