Solemn Flag Raising and Holy Mass in memory of the pilot who died in 2001. The ceremony, held in the presence of the Commander of the 51st Wing, Colonel Mauro Lunardi, and representatives of Veterans“ and Service Associations, began with a solemn flag raising, followed by the laying of a laurel wreath in memory of the departed officer. Afterwards, inside the airport church, the Military Chaplain celebrated Holy Mass, attended not only by personnel from the 51st Wing but also by some relatives of Colonel Franceschetti and some representatives of the 102nd Tricolour Arrows Club. At the time of the accident, Colonel Franceschetti held the position of Head of Operations Section of the 132nd Flying Group ”E. Buscaglia“ of the 51st Wing of Istrana. On 10th December 2002, the President of the Republic, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, awarded Colonel Franceschetti the Gold Medal of Military Valour with the following citation: "aware that he was flying over an inhabited area, did not abandon the aircraft to entrust his salvation to the parachute, but took actions and manoeuvres to avoid the extremely high risks and very serious damage that could have resulted to the civilian population from the fall of the aircraft. […] even in extremely critical conditions, he succeeded in his most generous and altruistic attempt to keep the aircraft airborne in order to gain the necessary and indispensable time to avert the uncontrolled fall of the aircraft into a populated area […]”.
