Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela today inaugurated a WW2 era plane, given to the Aviation museum by the Italian Army.

The plane is a Texan training aircraft.

AFM helicopter pilot Oliver Bennett was the man who brought the aircraft to Malta. He told this newsroom that together with some other enthusiasts, they went to view the plane in Italy a number of times. "Since I'm part of the AFM I have good Italian contacts. Italian officials told us there were only six left, and they gave us this one. The Aviation Museum paid to bring the aircraft to Malta and, with some tuning, we hope to get it flying again later on".

Italian Airforce Colonel Luca Mariz  spoke of the Italian Mission here in Malta. He said that alongside Maltese pilots, rescue operations have been ongoing for many years and that soon, the mission will change and Maltese will play a much larger role. 

The Italian and Maltese pilots have been working together for many years to perform rescue operations, he said, mentioning that they have flown some 14,000 flight hours together. Over 1,500 of these hours were operational hours.

Minister Abela thanked the Italians for their donation. He stressed that aside from rescue missions, Malta and Italy have been collaborating on issues relating to irregular migration.

"Last year the AFM bought its first new helicopter. A second has arrived recently and procurement procedures for a third have begun".

The Minister said that currently there are 13 Maltese pilots, with more undertaking training.

Italian Ambassador Giovanni Umberto De Vito mentioned the strong bond between Malta and Italy, adding that this exhibit will maintain th memory of the Search and Rescue Pilots involved in the Italian Mission to Malta.

Director General of the Malta Aviation Museum Foundation Ray Polidano also spoke during the inauguration.

Photos by James Bianchi