Andrea Russo, 35, from Calcinate near Bergamo, who was not a passenger or staff member at the airport, entered the terminal in his red Fiat 500 car before abandoning the vehicle and running into the building.
He arrived at the airport without a ticket and made his way to a restricted area leading to the runway before two Border Police on duty attempted to stop him.
He managed to free himself from the officers before running on to the tarmac and ‘throwing himself into one of the two turbofans’ on the Volotea Airbus A319 flight V73511 from Milan to Asturias.
One Spanish passenger on board at the time of the incident told La Nueva España: ‘Suddenly, we heard a noise and a bang.
‘Some people saw something through the window and put their hands to their heads. They told us it was best not to look out, because what was happening was very unpleasant.’
The woman, from Llanera in Asturias, described how the plane had just repositioned on a reserve runway and was taxiing slowly toward the take-off strip.
Andrea Russo, 35, from Calcinate near Bergamo, was not a passenger or airport staff member at Milan Bergamo Airport
Flightradar24 data shows flight V73511 from Milan to Asturias was on the move for only one minute and 55 seconds before the accident occurred
‘We don’t know exactly what happened,’ she said.
Moments later, the pilot addressed the passengers in a ‘shaken’ voice, informing them that there had been a ‘very serious problem involving a person.’
On the scene, police officers were joined by Flying Squad personnel and specialists within the Bergamo Police Headquarters’ Scientific Unit, who were in charge of the investigations. The prosecutor on duty from the Prosecutor’s Office was also present.