Pompeii Aerial Tour Helicopters Seized in Safety Investigation

Italian police have seized eight helicopters and are investigating four pilots associated with a company offering aerial tours of Pompeii’s archaeological ruins last week, alleging a laundry list of safety and operations violations.

Citing concerns “considered extremely dangerous to public and private safety,” Public Prosecutor Nunzio Fragliasso of the Torre Annunziata municipality said in an April 24 press release that a preventative seizure of aircrafts was necessary “in order to interrupt the illicit activities.”

Fragliasso’s press release accuses the Pompeii-based company Rotortech of conducting panoramic flights for profit without any authorizations or operations license as recently as November 2024. The company allegedly operated aircrafts that appear not to have undergone periodic inspections, and the maintenance procedures recorded for the helicopters did not comply with European commercial standards, Fragliasso claimed. He also accused the four individuals currently under investigation, one of whom serves as the legal representative of the company, of only having private pilot licenses instead of professional qualifications, and said the helicopters were not authorized for air navigation.

Fragliasso noted that in certain instances, tourists’ luggage was either reportedly resting on the air control panels of the helicopters or otherwise improperly stowed during the flight tours. Another allegation outlined that the pilots flew tours over Pompeii’s ruins and crowds of people, and conducted both take-offs and landings in critical zones near schools, highways, railways, and other obstacles.

No names were mentioned in the press release, though public records indicate that an individual named Giuseppe Pennino owns Rotortech as of 2018, and another individual named Enrico Abagnale, who received a 33-month pilot license suspension for low flying and dropping flower petals over the funeral service of a mafia boss in 2015, is also affiliated with the company.

Hyperallergic has reached out to Rotortech’s listed phone number via WhatsApp. Abagnale did not respond to a request for comment.

Aerial tourism has exploded in popularity worldwide as a means of offering new perspectives of archaeological wonders and cultural landmarks, with notable excursions including hot air balloons over Angkor Wat in Cambodia during sunrise and private flights encircling the Nazca Lines in Peru, among others. While tours of the ruins and excavation sites of Pompeii are popular, an aerial view would highlight the sheer size of the ancient city, whose secrets are being uncovered day by day.