Alitalia Flight 4128 was a scheduled flight from

Leonardo da Vinci Airport Leonardo is a masculine given name, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese equivalent of the English, German, and Dutch name, Leonard. People Notable people with the name include: * Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), Italian Renaissance scienti ...

, in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, to

Palermo International Airport Falcone Borsellino Airport ( it, link=no, Aeroporto Falcone Borsellino) or simply Palermo Airport, formerly Punta Raisi Airport, is an international airport located at Cinisi, west northwest of Palermo, the capital city of the Italian island ...

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

, with 129 on board. On December 23, 1978, it crashed into the

Tyrrhenian Sea The Tyrrhenian Sea (; it, Mar Tirreno , french: Mer Tyrrhénienne , sc, Mare Tirrenu, co, Mari Tirrenu, scn, Mari Tirrenu, nap, Mare Tirreno) is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenian pe ...

about north of

while on approach. The accident was attributed to the flight deck crew believing they were nearer to the runway than they were, and therefore making a premature descent. The initial part of the approach was instrumental until the flight was from

. The crew then stopped the descent at 150 feet above the sea, as though trying to locate the final approach area, thinking they were close to the runway because of the airport lights. In the final nine seconds the aircraft flew almost level with the sea at ; then, because of the wind, the aircraft lost its final altitude and impacted the water with its right wing. 21 of the 129 passengers survived and were rescued by nearby fishing boats. It is the second-deadliest air crash in Alitalia's history behind

Alitalia Flight 112 Alitalia Flight 112 was a scheduled flight from Leonardo da Vinci Airport, in Rome, Italy, to Palermo International Airport in Palermo, Italy, with 115 on board. On 5 May 1972, it crashed into Mount Longa, about southwest of Palermo while on ap ...

which had crashed 6 years prior.

References

External links

JetPhotos.Net – I-DIKQ

CVR transcript
Aviation accidents and incidents in Italy Airliner accidents and incidents caused by pilot error Disasters in Sicily Aviation accidents and incidents in 1978 1978 in Italy 4128 Accidents and incidents involving the McDonnell Douglas DC-9 December 1978 events in Europe Man-made disasters in Italy 1978 disasters in Italy {{aviation-accident-stub