A budget aircraft came dangerously close to crashing into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after departing from Catania Airport in Sicily.
The Air Arabia Airbus A320 plummeted to under 200 feet from the water's surface whilst travelling at approximately 300 miles per hour, merely eleven seconds following take-off.
Italy's National Agency for Flight Safety has launched an inquiry into what it classified as a "serious incident" that occurred on September 20.
The aircraft subsequently recovered from its rapid descent and proceeded to complete its journey to Amman, Jordan's capital city.
The aircraft's Ground Proximity Warning System triggered an urgent pull-up alert as the jet approached perilously close to the sea, according to Italy's aviation safety authority.
The warning mechanism, designed to prevent terrain collisions, activated when the plane descended to within a close distance of the water's surface.
The unexpected descent began minutes before midnight local time, with the aircraft losing significant altitude in favourable weather conditions.
Aviation safety officials confirmed the plane dropped during what should have been a routine climb following departure from Sicily's second-largest city.
A budget aircraft came dangerously close to crashing into the Mediterranean Sea
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The jet carried no passengers during the incident, with only two pilots and four cabin crew members aboard the flight bound for Jordan.
Despite the severity of the near-catastrophe, the aircraft arrived safely at its destination shortly before 3am Italian time without further complications.
Aviation authorities noted that weather conditions were favourable when the incident unfolded, ruling out environmental factors as a contributing cause.
The successful completion of the journey to Amman occurred despite what Italian safety officials described as an immediately dangerous situation that was swiftly resolved through pilot intervention.
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The incident came shortly after departing from Catania Airport in Sicily
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Italian aviation authorities have indicated that investigators will examine pilot accounts alongside aircraft system data to determine the cause of the incident.
The safety agency specified that crew members must provide detailed testimonies, which will be compared against onboard recordings.
Officials are exploring several potential causes for the near-disaster, including possible errors in weight calculations during pre-flight preparations or incorrect pilot manoeuvres during the initial climb phase.
The investigation commenced following the airline operator's preliminary incident report to ANSV.
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