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 Wreckage of the Avio Linee Italiane Fiat G.212 after the crash | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 4 May 1949 |
| Summary | Controlled flight into terrain due to low visibility |
| Site | Superga Hill,Turin, Italy |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Fiat G.212 CP |
| Operator | Avio Linee Italiane |
| Registration | I-ELCE |
| Flight origin | Lisbon, Portugal |
| Destination | Turin, Italy |
| Passengers | 27 |
| Crew | 4 |
| Fatalities | 31 |
| Survivors | 0 |
TheSuperga air disaster (Italian:Tragedia di Superga, "Tragedy of Superga") occurred on 4 May 1949, when aFiat G.212 ofAvio Linee Italiane (Italian Airlines), carrying the entireTorinofootball team (popularly known as theGrande Torino), crashed into the retaining wall at the back of theBasilica of Superga, which stands on a hill on the outskirts ofTurin. All thirty-one people on the flight were killed.
The Avio Linee Italiane Fiat G.212CP was carrying the team home fromLisbon, where they had played a friendly match withS.L. Benfica in honour of the Portuguesecaptain,Francisco Ferreira.[1] In the incident, the whole active Torino team (almost all of whom were also members of theItaly national football team) lost their lives. Club officials including the manager,Ernő Egri Erbstein, a Hungarian refugee, and the head coach, EnglishmanLeslie Lievesley, also perished in the accident,[1] as well as the crew of the aircraft and three well-known Italian sports journalists: Renato Casalbore (founder ofTuttosport); Renato Tosatti (theGazzetta del Popolo, father of Giorgio Tosatti), and Luigi Cavallero (La Stampa). The task of identifying the bodies was entrusted to the former manager of the Italy national team,Vittorio Pozzo, who had called up most of Torino's players to theAzzurri.[1]
Thefull-backSauro Tomà did not take part in the trip due to an injuredmeniscus,[1] nor did the reservegoalkeeper,Renato Gandolfi (the third goalkeeper,Dino Ballarin, took his place). Radio commentatorNicolò Carosio,Luigi Giuliano (captain of the Torino youth team), and former manager of the Italy national team Vittorio Pozzo, were excluded for various reasons. Torino's president,Ferruccio Novo, also did not go on the trip because he was ill withinfluenza.[1]
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The three-engined Fiat G.212, withaircraft registration I-ELCE, of Avio Linee Italiane, took off from Lisbon at 09:40 a.m. on Wednesday, 4 May 1949. The commander of the aircraft was Lieutenant Colonel Meroni. The flight landed at the airport inBarcelona at 13:00. While the aircraft was refuelled during the stopover, Torino met for lunch withMilan, who were on their way toMadrid.
At 14:50, I-ELCE set off for theTurin-Aeritalia Airport. The flight's route was to take it overCap de Creus,Toulon,Nice,Albenga, andSavona. Above Savona, the plane turned north, in the direction of the capital ofPiedmont, where it was expected to arrive in 30 minutes. The weather in Turin was poor; at 16:55, the airport of Turin Aeritalia communicated the weather situation to the pilot: clouds almost touching the ground, showers, strong southwest wind gusts, and very poor horizontal visibility (40 metres (130 ft)).
At this point, the tower asked for the pilot's position. After a few minutes of silence (at 16:59) came the reply: "Quota 2,000 metres (6,600 ft). QDM on Pino, then we will cut at Superga". AtPino Torinese, which is located betweenChieri andBaldissero Torinese, southeast of Turin, there was aVHF direction finder, to provide a QDM (magnetic course to be taken on a head-on approach as a radio aid) on request.
On approach, the plane lined up with the runway at Aeritalia about 9 miles (14 km) away to the west, at 305 metres (1,001 ft) above sea level, with Pino at 290° off its nose. Just north of Pino Torinese was theBasilica of Superga, situated on a hill at 669 metres (2,195 ft) above sea level. One theory for the deviation is that due to the strong left crosswinds, the plane could have suffered a drift to starboard, which shifted from the axis of descent and lined up with the hill of Superga. Recent investigations also suggested the possibility that the altimeter had malfunctioned and locked at 2,000 metres (6,600 ft), which led the pilots to believe that they were at a higher altitude.[2]
At 17:03, the plane made a turn to the left, returned to level flight, and had aligned to prepare for landing when it crashed into the back of the embankment of the Basilica of Superga. The pilot, who likely believed that the Superga hill was off to his right, would have seen it suddenly emerge directly in front of him (speed 180 kilometres per hour (110 mph), visibility 40 metres (130 ft)) and been unable to react. The wreckage did not give any indication of an attempt to go around. The only part of the aircraft which remained partially intact was theempennage.
At 17:05, Aeritalia Torre called I-ELCE, but received no response. All of the 31 people on board were killed.
At the request of rival teams, Torino were proclaimed winners of the1948–49 Serie A season on 6 May 1949,[1] and the opponents, as well as Torino, fielded their youth teams in the four remaining games. On the day of the funeral, half a million people took to the streets of Turin to give a final farewell to the players.[1] The following season, the other top Italian teams were asked to donate a player to Torino.[1] The shock of the crash was such that the following year, the Italy national team chose to travel to the1950 FIFA World Cup in Brazil by ship.[3]
The crash is commemorated annually.[1] Remains of the aircraft, including a propeller, a tyre, scattered pieces of the fuselage, and the personal bags of Mazzola, Maroso, and Erbstein, are preserved in a museum inGrugliasco near Turin. TheMuseo del Grande Torino e della Leggenda Granata, located in the prestigious Villa Claretta Assandri ofGrugliasco, was opened on 4 May 2008, the anniversary of the tragedy. Eight of the 18 players (as well as two coaches and the journalist Renato Casalbore) are buried at theCimitero Monumentale of Turin.
45°04′52.1″N7°46′08.3″E / 45.081139°N 7.768972°E /45.081139; 7.768972