Two Italian families among 13 dead after tourist plane crashes returning from Nazca Lines in Peru
A Cessna 208 Grand Caravan operated by Aerodiana went down during its return from a scenic flight over the Nazca Lines on Saturday evening, killing all 13 people on board, including seven Italians from two families in the Brianza area.
The victims
All 13 people on board the Cessna 208 Grand Caravan died when the aircraft crashed and caught fire on Saturday 1 August, during the return leg of a tourist flight over the Nazca Lines in southern Peru. Seven of the dead were Italian nationals from two families resident in Monza and Seregno, in the province of Monza Brianza. The families were friends travelling together.
The Angelucci family from Seregno comprised Massimo Angelucci, 58, owner of the mechanical components firm Icma Tecno (also reported as Ima Tecno) based in Lissone, his wife Elena Sala, 58, who worked alongside him in the business, and their son Lorenzo Angelucci, 24, who had recently graduated from the Politecnico di Milano and shared his parents' passion for travel.
The Gianturco family from Monza comprised Paolo Gianturco, 59, a senior partner at Deloitte Consulting in Milan with around thirty years of experience in strategic consulting for financial institutions, his wife Cristina Maria Bianco, 57, an entrepreneur in personnel recruitment, and their two sons Matteo, 24, and Pietro, 18.
È una tragedia immensa, che sconvolge tutta la nostra comunità professionale e la nostra grande famiglia. Paolo è stato un grande innovatore e, soprattutto, una persona che ha saputo ispirare e accompagnare tante colleghe e tanti colleghi, anche giovanissimi, con la sua visione, la sua generosità e la sua umanità.
The other six victims were two German tourists, Andreas Hofmann, 78, and Gertrud Maria Hofmann, 77, two Spanish nationals, Alfredo Aviles Muñoyerro (also reported as Yerro Alfredo Avilés Muñoz), 52, and Ana Isabel Sanchez Muñoz, 52, and the two Peruvian crew members, pilot Americo Alejandro Salazar Cuellar and co-pilot Irenka Del Carpio Guanilo.
The crash
The aircraft, operated by the Peruvian company Aerodiana, was returning from a panoramic excursion over the Nazca Lines, the celebrated archaeological site where visitors fly over ancient desert geoglyphs. The impact occurred during the return phase. Rescue workers who reached the site were unable to assist any of the passengers because fire rapidly engulfed the wreckage.
Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori expressed her condolences. The Italian ambassador in Lima, Massimiliano Mazzanti, informed relatives in Italy and is coordinating with the Farnesina, Italy's foreign ministry.
The investigation
The Cessna 208 Grand Caravan is not equipped with a flight data recorder, making the analysis of wreckage and radio communications essential to determining the cause. Reports indicate that adverse weather conditions were present at the time, with strong winds causing damage to houses and roads and lifting large quantities of sand in the hours before the crash. The aircraft reportedly took off despite those conditions.
Community reaction
In Seregno, mayor Alberto Rossi said the city was in shock and that municipal authorities had made themselves available to the relatives for any practical needs.
L'intera città è sconvolta da questa vicenda e ci siamo già messi a totale disposizione dei familiari per qualunque necessità operativa e pratica in una tragedia come questa.
Deloitte Central Mediterranean CEO Alessandro Mercuri described Paolo Gianturco as a pioneer of innovation applied to financial services, an extraordinary consultant valued by all his clients, and a reference point for dozens of young colleagues.
