Italian pilot killed after planes collide in air show

A pilot has been killed after his propeller aircraft had a mid-air collision with another stunt plane in Italy.

Marco Ricci, 47, died yesterday when his plane crossed into the path of Luigi Wilmo Franceschetti's aircraft above a beach at Tortoreto in the central Italian region of Abruzzo, Il Messageroreports.

The men were taking part in an air show when their planes collided while flying side by side.

Footage of the crash shot by a spectator shows the aircraft collide, causing one of them to plummet immediately.

Mr Franceschetti, 43, was able to keep his plane in the air long enough to perform an emergency landing on the beach.

But the touchdown on the shore was far from smooth. The plane's tyres dug into the sand and flipped it before coming to rest upside down in shallow water.

Bystanders rushed to the plane and freed the stricken pilot who was taken to hospital with minor injuries.

Mr Ricci's body was recovered from the wreck of his aircraft a few hours after the crash.

An investigation into the crash has been launched.