Terrible Test-Flight

The plane was to revolutionize passenger flight. Designed and built by Count Caproni, the Ca 90 more resembled a gigantic houseboat than an airplane. Nine multi-layered wings supported eight huge engines. As one Italian historian reported, the Ca 90 "would not have looked out of place sailing up the English Channel with the Spanish Armada".

Test pilot Signor Semprini had serious doubts about the plane, but Caproni ordered him to take off with a ballast load equivalent to 60 passengers. Crowds of people gathered around Lake Maggiore in January of 1921 to enjoy the spectacle. The air was soon filled with the roar of the eight 3200 horsepower engines and the monstrosity began to move across the lake, gathering speed with each passing moment.

Finally... Lift Off!

To his credit, Semprini did his best to control the beast, but it was decidedly unstable and the nose dipped almost immediately after take-off causing the ballast to roll forward to the front of the plane. The feeble wings snapped off and what was left of the Ca 90 plunged into the lake... and into history.