On the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the tragic downing of G.222 over Sarajevo, the 46th Air Brigade paid tribute to its fallen soldiers exactly 20 years ago. In fact, a G-222 aircraft of the 46th Air Brigade from Pisa, the “Lyra 34“, which was carrying humanitarian aid destined for the besieged population of Sarajevo, was shot down on Mount Zec, approximately 40 kilometers west of the capital of Bosnia, by two surface-to-air missiles. Following the downing, all the crew members lost their lives: Lt. Col. Marco Betti, Lt. Marco Rigliaco, M.llo Giuseppe Buttiglieri and M.llo Giuliano Velardi, to whom the President of the Republic awarded the Gold Medal for Military Valor in memory of them that same year. The ”Lyra 34” was engaged in UN operations to assist the besieged populations of Bosnia within the framework of an intense activity transporting food and medical supplies. The mission, in fact, was part of a humanitarian airlift, in which the Italian Air Force actively participated with the aircraft of the 46th Air Brigade, which transported a total of 34,600 tons of food, medicine and other essential goods to Sarajevo, then redistributed to approximately 800,000 people in 110 locations throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina. From the very first missions outside the national borders, the transport capabilities of the 46th Air Brigade have made the Department one of the main tools through which the country has offered aid to populations in need around the world, with more than 60,000 hours dedicated to transporting humanitarian aid: from food to medicine, from medical equipment to field hospitals.
Thanks to the load-carrying capabilities of the C-130J and C-27J transport aircraft, the 46th Air Brigade also provides the valuable service of transporting organs for transplants and people in imminent life-threatening danger who are transported on board the aircraft while remaining, if necessary, inside the ambulance. For this service, the Brigade has two alert teams (12 hours each) ready to depart in 120 or 180 minutes depending on the needs.
