Leonardo AW609 crash near Tronzano Vercellese, Piedmont, Italy

The second AgustaWestland AW609 tiltrotor prototype (N609AG) crashed during a high-speed dive test near Tronzano Vercellese in Piedmont, Italy. Both test pilots were killed. The aircraft was performing a steep dive at high speed when it exceeded its structural limits and broke apart in flight. Debris was scattered over a wide area of rice paddies. The AW609 was the first civilian tiltrotor aircraft under development.