68-year-old Romanian billionaire businessman, Dan Petrescu, wife, son and 5 others have died after the plane he was piloting crashed into a building in Italy on Sunday, October 3.
Reports say that Petrescu, known as one of the richest men in his home country, was operating a single engine Pilatus PC-12 when it dived into an office building.
Authorities say the building was undergoing renovation at the time of the incident.
The billionaire, his 65-year-old wife, son Dan Stefano, 30 and a child were among the eight people who died aboard the wrecked plane.
Eyewitnesses report that the plane plummeted out of the sky and smashed into the building which was thankfully empty
One named as Andrea, 19, told tgcom.24.: “I saw the plane lose control. I saw it just as it crashed. I saw it dive. The plane was low. And then there was a lot of smoke, flames in the sky. Pieces were flying. I was very scared.”
Emergency workers said several cars in a nearby parking lot were set ablaze, but the vehicles were unoccupied at the time.
The Pilatus PC-12 single engine plane took off from the main runway at Linate airport at 1.04pm local time but crashed 11 minutes later. Their plane was on its way to the island of Sardinia to visit Mr Petrescu’s 98-year-old mother at the family villa.
“The plane hit the building on the facade, with an extremely violent impact,” said Carlo Cardinali from Milan fire brigade.
“The pilot made a turn, so he noticed some anomaly.”
Speaking at the scene, Milan prosecutor Tiziana Siciliano, said “there does not appear to have been an alarm launched from board”.
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