Two killed as gyrocopter hits cable-car lines near Campliccioli dam

Two people died on August 26, 2026, after a gyrocopter crashed and struck cable-car lines near the Campliccioli dam in the Antrona area of Italy's Piedmont region, emergency services said. The accident happened at about 11:30 a.m. in the upper Antrona Valley, close to the border between Ossola and Switzerland.

The victims were identified as 64-year-old engineer Alessandro Angelo Muskinelli and 63-year-old Antonella Paljarani, who was a partner of Muskinelli's brother. Both were pronounced dead at the scene.

On-scene response

Rescue crews, local firefighters and multiple helicopters were dispatched to the meadow beside the lake and the dam. Firefighters reported that the aircraft struck the cable lines of an Enel cable system that serves the dam, which triggered a fire at the crash site. Among the aircraft involved in the response was the 118 medical helicopter that departed from Borgosesia and the firefighting helicopter known as "Drago."

Witnesses from the nearby village of Antrona said they saw the gyrocopter in flames shortly after the impact, describing it as "a ball of fire." A relative of Muskinelli who was at the Campliccioli lake area witnessed the accident.

Authorities carried out on-site operations throughout the afternoon to extinguish the blaze and secure the wreckage while investigators began preliminary inquiries into the cause of the crash. Gyrocopters are small rotary-wing aircraft where the engine provides forward thrust and the rotor turns by autorotation.

Local officials have not released further details about the circumstances of the flight or whether weather or technical failure played a role. Investigators are expected to examine the aircraft, the cable infrastructure and air traffic records as part of the probe.

Photo: Printskrin / Iks/@aviationbrk