Piaggio P.166

P.166
Piaggio P.166 DL3, Italian Coast Guard
Role	Civil utility aircraft
Manufacturer	Piaggio Aero
First flight	26 November 1957
Developed from	Piaggio P.136

The Piaggio P.166 is a twin-engine pusher-type utility aircraft developed by the Italian aircraft manufacturer Piaggio Aero.

The aircraft is known as Albatross in South African military service.

The basic P.166 was a development of the P.136 amphibian and flew for the first time on 26 November 1957. Several were purchased for use as executive transports or as feeder and taxi aircraft. The improved P.166B was more powerful and had up to 10 seats; a prototype was first flown on 27 March 1962.

A further version, the 12 seater P.166C, with improved undercarriage, first flew on 2 October 1964.

Variants

P.166

First production version.

P.166B Portofino

Powered by two 250 kW (340 hp) Lycoming IGSO-480 engines. Six built.

P.166C

P.166M

Military version.

P.166S Albatross

Coastal patrol, search and rescue version of the South African Air Force. 20 built.

P.166BL2

Powered by two 280 kW (380 hp) Lycoming IGSO-540-A1H engines.

P.166BL3

Light utility transport version, powered by two 450 kW (600 hp) Lycoming LTP 101-600 turboprop engines.

P.166-DLR-MAR

Maritime patrol version.

Operators

P.166 of the Ansett Airlines of Papua New Guinea in the early 1970s

 Italy

• Italian Air Force
• Corps of the Port Captaincies - Coast Guard
• Guardia di Finanza
• Italian Ministry of Merchant Marine

 Somalia

• Somalian Aeronautical Corps

 South Africa

• South African Air Force

Specifications (P.166)

Data from Jane's Aircraft Recognition Guide ^[1]

General characteristics

• Crew: two pilots plus mission crew
• Length: 11.8 m (39 ft 0 in)
• Wingspan: 14.6 m (48 ft 2 in)
• Height: 5 m (16 ft 5 in)
• Empty weight: 2,688 kg (5,926 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 4,300 kg (9,480 lb)
• Powerplant: 2 × Lycoming LTP 101-700 turboprops, 895 kW (1,200 hp) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 400 km/h (248 mph)
• Range: 2,130 km (1,150 nmi)

Armament

none

P.166S Albatross crash

At 10:30 on Sunday 14 August 2011 two ex-SAAF Piaggio P-166S Albatross aircraft, ZU MMI and ZS NJX, took off from Tarentaal airfield23°49′31.22″S 30°19′31.92″E / 23.8253389°S 30.3255333°E / -23.8253389; 30.3255333Coordinates: 23°49′31.22″S 30°19′31.92″E / 23.8253389°S 30.3255333°E / -23.8253389; 30.3255333 near Tzaneen having participated in an air show at the town the previous day.^[2] The aircraft were due to land at Rand Airport in Germiston an hour and a half later.^[3] When it was determined at 13:30^[4] that the aircraft were overdue in Germiston and that contact could not be established with any persons on board either aircraft, a full-scale search and rescue operation was launched.^[3] This operation involved SASAR, the Air Rescue Co-ordination Centre, the South African Police Service, the Mountain Club and a number of volunteers.^[3]

At least 12 search and rescue aircraft, ready to fly as part of efforts to find the two Albatross aircraft were grounded for 24 hours on Monday 15 August due to bad weather.^[5]

The wreckage of the two aircraft was found at 08:15^[4] on Tuesday morning in the Mamotswiri Peak region by a SA Police Service helicopter.^[6] All thirteen people aboard the two aircraft died in the crash.^[7]

Hannes Steyn, head of the Mopani Municipality Disaster Management Centre in Tzaneen, said: “They flew directly into the cliff.”^[8]

The South African Civil Aviation Authority announced that it had launched an investigation into the crash.^[4]

References

1. ^ Rendall, David (1995). Jane's Aircraft Recognition Guide. Glasgow, UK: HarperCollinsPublishers. pp. 505. ISBN 0-00-4709802. 
2. ^ news24.com
3. ^ ^{a b c} Aviation Safety Network
4. ^ ^{a b c} iol news
5. ^ news24.com
6. ^ news24.com
7. ^ news24.com
8. ^ news24.com