Press Release No. 20/2019 AIR FORCE: BOEING KC767 SAFE AND FULLY OPERATIONAL With regard to the article published this morning in Il Fatto Quotidiano, entitled “The Air Force has 4 aircraft at risk, but they are still flying” by Toni De Marchi, the Italian Air Force wishes to state, with absolute firmness, that the four Boeing KC-767A aircraft in service with the 14th Wing at Pratica di Mare – like all Armed Forces aircraft – meet stringent and very rigid safety and efficiency requirements and parameters, applied by the Air Force in line with directives and standards defined at international level. Regarding the issue referred to in the article, as was moreover already pointed out to the journalist, it is specified that the KC-767A aircraft of the Italian Air Force too, like all modern aircraft, are equipped with safety systems designed to recognise the approach to a stall situation, with the consequent loss of lift and altitude, allowing the aircraft to exit such a situation while keeping it within its flight envelope. In particular, the System Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System The (MCAS) system fitted to the KC-767A is designed to provide the pilot with additional information regarding the aircraft’s status by applying forces to the flight controls in the event of a high angle of attack (AOA). The MCAS has the authority to move the horizontal stabiliser under specific flight conditions. In addition, the KC-767A is also equipped with two redundant safety systems that prevent any further uncontrolled movement of the horizontal stabiliser. Should the MCAS cause an undesirable flight condition, Italian Air Force pilots are regularly trained in the use of both safety systems. Given that the MCAS system fitted to the Italian Air Force’s KC-767A differs from that on the Boeing 737 Max, it has not been necessary to implement any additional precautionary measures, nor any specific training for the Armed Forces’ crews operating the aircraft, beyond the stringent training protocols that are already carried out periodically both on the ground using simulators and during in-flight training missions. A significant part of this training is specifically dedicated to managing various types of emergencies and critical situations, including the procedures to be followed in the event of uncontrolled movement of the horizontal stabiliser. The Italian Air Force’s KC-767As – a special military version of the Boeing 767, which is widely used in civil aviation – are deployed on a wide range of missions, including the transport of personnel and materials, as well as in a tanker configuration for in-flight refuelling of other aircraft. To date, the Italian Air Force’s KC-767A fleet has logged more than 26,000 flight hours and carried out over 6,400 missions across the globe, in support of Italian military contingents operating abroad within the framework of NATO or international coalitions, for international exercises, as well as during humanitarian emergencies in which the Armed Forces’ aircraft are often called upon to transport emergency aid. At this very moment, for example, the Italian Air Force’s KC-767As are engaged in supporting the Civil Protection Agency by transporting a field hospital and humanitarian aid to the people of Mozambique affected by the devastating Cyclone Idai. Another significant example of the KC-767A’s versatility is its long-range medical evacuation capability, such as the urgent repatriation from Sierra Leone – using a special stretcher designed for transporting highly infectious patients – of an Emergency doctor who had contracted the Ebola virus during a humanitarian mission in that African country.