AN
Italian air force pilot is under investigation for alleged show boating after
he crashed his £20 million jet while flying over his home town.
Top
Gun Francesco Sferra, 35, was forced to eject from his single seater AMX
fighter plane as he swooped low over rooftops but his flight plan should have
taken him no where near the built up area.
The
jet, which has a top speed of 600mph, smashed into woods close to the town and
miraculously no-one was hurt after Sferra steered it away from houses and he
parachuted to safety.
Initially
he was hailed a hero but local prosecutors are looking at the possibility the
AMX crashed due to a technical fault after Sferra had swooped low over his home
town of Carovilli near Isernia in central Italy.
The
incident is being compared to the "sail by salute" carried out by
cruise ship captain Francesco Schettino when he steered the luxury liner the
Costa Concordia past the island of Giglio two years ago - only to strike rocks
and cost 32 lives.
A
source close to the investigation said: "The pilot should have taken off
and flown directly north, instead he headed south east we need to know
why."
