The Superga air disaster (, "Tragedy of Superga") occurred on 4 May 1949, when a Fiat G.212 airliner of Avio Linee Italiane, carrying the entire Torino football team (popularly known as the Grande Torino), crashed into the retaining wall at the back of the Basilica of Superga, which stands on a hilltop near Turin, Italy. All thirty-one people on board were killed.

Background

The Avio Linee Italiane Fiat G.212CP was carrying the team home from Lisbon, where they had played a friendly match with S.L. Benfica in honour of the Portuguese captain, Francisco Ferreira. In the incident, the whole active Torino team (almost all of whom were also members of the Italy national football team) lost their lives. Club officials including the manager, Ernő Egri Erbstein, a Hungarian refugee, and the head coach, Englishman Leslie Lievesley, also perished in the accident,

At 17:03, the plane made a turn to the left, returned to level flight, and had aligned to prepare for landing when it crashed into the back of the embankment of the Basilica of Superga. The pilot, who likely believed that the Superga hill was off to his right, would have seen it suddenly emerge directly in front of him (speed , visibility ) and been unable to react. The wreckage did not give any indication of an attempt to go around. The only part of the aircraft which remained partially intact was the empennage.

At 17:05, Aeritalia Torre called I-ELCE, but received no response. All of the 31 people on board were killed.

Victims

thumb|right|250px|The memorial to the victims of the disaster at the [[Basilica of Superga]]

thumb|Opera of E. Eandi created for the 50th anniversary of the tragedy. The cover reads: "Raise your heads, scarlet people,/The faithful shout cannot be forgotten./Turn your gaze unto the future/And be sure of being worthy of the glorious past."

Players

  • Valerio Bacigalupo
  • Aldo Ballarin
  • Dino Ballarin
  • Émile Bongiorni
  • Eusebio Castigliano
  • Rubens Fadini
  • Guglielmo Gabetto
  • Ruggero Grava
  • Giuseppe Grezar
  • Ezio Loik
  • Virgilio Maroso
  • Danilo Martelli
  • Valentino Mazzola
  • Romeo Menti
  • Piero Operto
  • Franco Ossola
  • Mario Rigamonti
  • Július Schubert

Coaching staff

  • Ottavio Corina, massage therapist
  • Ernő Egri Erbstein, manager
  • Leslie Lievesley, coach

Club officials

  • Arnaldo Agnisetta, general manager
  • Andrea Bonaiuti, travel organizer
  • Ippolito Civalleri, travel escort

Journalists

  • Renato Casalbore
  • Luigi Cavallero
  • Renato Tosatti

Flight crew

  • Cesare Biancardi, co-pilot
  • Celestino D'Inca, engineer
  • Pierluigi Meroni, pilot
  • Antonio Pangrazi, radio operator

Aftermath

At the request of rival teams, Torino were proclaimed winners of the 1948–49 Serie A season on 6 May 1949,

The crash is commemorated annually.