| P.166 | |
|---|---|
| Piaggio P.166 DL3, Italian Coast Guard | |
| Role | Civil utility aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Piaggio Aero |
| First flight | 26 November 1957 |
| Developed from | Piaggio P.136 |
The Piaggio P.166 is a twin-engine pusher-type utility aircraft developed by the Italian aircraft manufacturer Piaggio Aero.
The aircraft is known as Albatross in South African military service.
The basic P.166 was a development of the P.136 amphibian and flew for the first time on 26 November 1957. Several were purchased for use as executive transports or as feeder and taxi aircraft. The improved P.166B was more powerful and had up to 10 seats; a prototype was first flown on 27 March 1962.
A further version, the 12 seater P.166C, with improved undercarriage, first flew on 2 October 1964.
Contents |
Data from Jane's Aircraft Recognition Guide [1]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
none
At 10:30 on Sunday 14 August 2011 two ex-SAAF Piaggio P-166S Albatross aircraft, ZU MMI and ZS NJX, took off from Tarentaal airfield near Tzaneen having participated in an air show at the town the previous day.[2] The aircraft were due to land at Rand Airport in Germiston an hour and a half later.[3] When it was determined at 13:30[4] that the aircraft were overdue in Germiston and that contact could not be established with any persons on board either aircraft, a full-scale search and rescue operation was launched.[3] This operation involved SASAR, the Air Rescue Co-ordination Centre, the South African Police Service, the Mountain Club and a number of volunteers.[3]
At least 12 search and rescue aircraft, ready to fly as part of efforts to find the two Albatross aircraft were grounded for 24 hours on Monday 15 August due to bad weather.[5]
The wreckage of the two aircraft was found at 08:15[4] on Tuesday morning in the Mamotswiri Peak region by a SA Police Service helicopter.[6] All thirteen people aboard the two aircraft died in the crash.[7]
Hannes Steyn, head of the Mopani Municipality Disaster Management Centre in Tzaneen, said: “They flew directly into the cliff.”[8]
The South African Civil Aviation Authority announced that it had launched an investigation into the crash.[4]
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