Investigators launched a probe to determine what caused the private plane's crash shortly after it took off from Milan's Linate Airport. It was en route to Olbia Airport, on the Italian island Sardinia. The crash site was clearly visible from miles away. Numerous nearby parked cars were also set on fire.
Firefighters said that only those aboard were injured in the crash, which occurred near a San Donato Milanese subway station. This small town is close to Milan.
Tiziana Siciliano, Milan Prosecutor, told reporters on the scene that the plane was continuing its flight up until "a certain point", when an anomaly appeared on radar screens and it plummeted.
She said that the anomaly was reported by control tower personnel, but no further details were available.
According to the prosecutor, there was no alarm from the plane. Siciliano stated that it was too soon to identify any cause of the crash and that the flight recorder had been recovered.
Siciliano stated that only two of eight bodies had been identified by the time they reached their graves, as they were carrying documents. She stated that the passengers were all foreigners, even the pilot who was Romanian. According to the prosecutor, the aircraft was registered in Romania.
Later, the Romanian Foreign Ministry stated that two dual-nationality Romanians were among those who had died.
According to Italian news reports, the pilot was also German citizen at age 30. According to reports, a second victim was a Romanian lady in her 60s with French citizenship.
According to reports, the aircraft flew from Bucharest (Romania) to Milan on September 30 without any apparent problems.
According to ANSA, the Italian news agency reported that the plane "hit the building and started burning." ANSV, the national air safety agency, said it was a PC-12, a single engine, executive-type aircraft.
Fire officials stated earlier that the plane had crashed into the building's façade. After further inspection, however, the prosecutor confirmed that the plane had hit the roof.
The firefighters put out the flames in the badly-charred, gutted building that was reportedly under renovation.
