Enrico Massi (29 October 1897 – 4 October 1923) was an Italian aviator. He is considered a pioneer of aviation in El Salvador.

Biography

His parents were Augusto Massi and Carlota Pascarella. In

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he was a pilot and flight instructor for the

Italian Royal Navy The , ) (RM) or Royal Italian Navy was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy () from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the changed its name to ''Marina Militare'' ("Military Navy"). Origins ...

, and after the conflict, he worked as a test pilot in the Monte Celio experiment field. Later he made acrobatic presentations in Africa and Asia with Mario D'Urso, and in 1922 he was hired by

Fiat S.p.A. Fiat S.p.A., or ''Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino'' (Italian Automobile Factory of Turin), was an Italian holding company whose original and core activities were in the automotive industry, and that was succeeded by Fiat Chrysler Automobil ...

again as a test pilot. In same year he arrived in the American continent along with other Italians at the invitation of the Honduran government, to form an aviation school, but this objective was not met. On 4 October 1923, he was conducting an instruction flight with Juan Ramón Munés in a

Caudron G.3 The Caudron G.3 was a single-engined French sesquiplane built by Caudron, widely used in World War I as a reconnaissance aircraft and trainer. Development The Caudron G.3 was designed by René and Gaston Caudron as a development of their earli ...

, but the device suffered engine failures that caused his fall and the death at 11:30 in the Venice farm

Soyapango Soyapango is a district in the San Salvador department of El Salvador. Soyapango is the country's largest municipality with 284,700 residents. Soyapango is a satellite city of San Salvador and it is the main thoroughfare between San Salvador and ...

. He was buried with all the honors, and a national mourning was decreed in the country.El Diario de Hoy
Historia aérea salvadoreña
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References

1897 births 1923 deaths Italian aviation pioneers Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents Italian military aviators Italian test pilots Military personnel from Naples Salvadoran people of Italian descent Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1923 {{Aviation-bio-stub Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in El Salvador