Plane Nosedives and Crashes into Busy Italian Highway Leaving 2 Dead

What started as an ordinary Tuesday drive turned into a highway nightmare when a small ultralight plane plunged from the sky and exploded into flames on a busy Italian freeway — killing both people on board and injuring others in vehicles nearby.

Horrifying dashcam footage, now circulating widely on social media, captures the terrifying moment the Freccia RG aircraft nosedives and slams into the asphalt of the A21 highway near Brescia, erupting into a massive fireball. Within seconds, a wall of smoke and flames engulfed the road, forcing drivers to swerve around the burning wreckage.

The victims have been identified as Sergio Ravaglia, a well-known 75-year-old attorney from Milan, and his partner, 60-year-old Anna Maria De Stefano. The couple reportedly departed from a private airfield shortly before the crash.

Eyewitnesses say Ravaglia appeared to be attempting an emergency landing, but the aircraft lost lift and spiraled out of control. “It looked like he was trying to level out and make it to the highway,” one local driver told Brescia Today. “Then it just dropped — nose-first — and exploded.”

Two drivers were injured in the blast, though their injuries are not considered life-threatening. Video from the scene shows multiple cars narrowly escaping the blaze, some driving directly through the wall of fire. Authorities confirmed that several vehicles sustained damage from the explosion and flying debris.

“I thought it was a terrorist attack,” said Marco Bianchi, who was driving behind the impact zone. “The whole sky lit up orange. We could feel the heat through the windshield.”

Italy’s National Agency for Flight Safety dispatched a crash consultant to the scene Wednesday as part of a full-scale investigation into what caused the disaster. Meanwhile, Brescia’s Public Prosecutor’s Office has opened a manslaughter investigation, though no specific individual or organization has been named as a suspect.

The probe will focus on the condition of the aircraft, including maintenance records and possible mechanical failures. Prosecutors have also requested a technical assessment of the wreckage, which was completely incinerated on impact.

The Freccia RG, the model involved in the crash, is an Italian-built carbon fiber ultralight aircraft with a wingspan of just under 30 feet. It’s considered a high-performance sport aircraft — popular among private hobbyists in Europe but rarely seen in U.S. skies.

“It’s designed for agility and speed, not emergency landings on highways,” aviation analyst Don Baxter told Airspace Weekly. “Any failure in altitude or velocity management at low altitude can be fatal.”

The deadly crash comes as European air safety regulators face growing scrutiny over the increasing use of ultralight aircraft in populated areas.

As the investigation unfolds, Italian authorities have vowed to tighten oversight. “We will determine whether this tragedy was preventable,” a spokesperson for Italy’s Civil Aviation Authority said. “And if it was, someone will be held accountable.”

Back in the U.S., the FAA has issued no statement regarding the crash but continues to monitor international investigations involving aircraft sold or manufactured abroad.

WARNING: GRAPHIC FOOTAGE

Video of the fiery crash has gone viral across multiple platforms. Viewer discretion is strongly advised.

✈️🔥 A plane crashed onto a busy highway in Italy — several cars passed through a wall of fire

According to Brescia Today, the cause of the crash remains unknown.

On board were a 75-year-old man and a 60-year-old woman. They both died. pic.twitter.com/65JdtqyS0D

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) July 23, 2025