Girl and Helicopter, Bracciano, Italy, June 2007

Published 2008 June 3

I took this less than a minute before this shocking photograph of the airshow crash we witnessed here in Bracciano on Monday, June 1st 2008.

When I saw the helicopter reach the top in its final maneuver, I had a similar thought to David Cenciotti’s:

“…as soon as the aircraft’s nose was diving towards the lake, I understood that the pilot could not recover the chopper before touching the water.”

The people in the pedalino were very lucky, as were the two survivors in the helicopter (Video showing the force of the crash.). The pilot, Cap. Filippo Fornassi, died. My sincere condolences to Mr. Fornassi’s family and friends. It was a terrible day.