Businessman Giorgio Bortolo Oliva, 66, was fined 13,2 euros (around R$2.400) after landing his helicopter at an altitude of 1.600 meters on a ski slope on the Cima del Grostè mountain in the Brenta Dolomites. Italian law prohibits landings in areas above XNUMX meters without special authorization.
Oliva arrived at the ski resort like few others: descending from his own helicopter, on a sunny day in the Alps. The calm with which he parked the aircraft and headed for the ski slopes surprised even the authorities, who approached him shortly after the irregular landing.
The businessman told the police that he was short of time and justified his choice of air route due to professional commitments. “I just wanted to ski a bit,” he said, without presenting a landing permit.
Oliva's history of flying in high-risk areas is not new. On October 25, 2020, he was piloting another helicopter heading to a ski resort on the Swiss border when the aircraft crashed in a mountainous area near the Cime Bianche lakes in the Aosta Valley, at an altitude of almost 3 meters.
Alfredo Buda, also from Odolo, in the province of Brescia, died in the crash. Oliva was prosecuted for manslaughter and pleaded guilty on February 1, 2023, receiving an eight-month prison sentence, suspended by the court.
According to the Aosta Public Prosecutor's Office, the weather conditions on the day of the accident did not allow for a safe flight. Nevertheless, the businessman decided to continue with the flight. The new incident reignites the debate on the control of private flights in Alpine regions and compliance with safety regulations.
