For the third time in less than a year he reached the ski slopes with his own helicopter, landing close to the ski slopes. Now for Bortolo Giorgio Oliva, 66-year-old entrepreneur from Brescia, the precautionary suspension of the flight license from ENACthe National Civil Aviation Authority.
The latest episode dates back to yesterday, when Oliva returned to land with his aircraft on the area Maniva Ski, in the province of Brescia, replicating a maneuver already carried out on 13 December in the same place. According to what has been reconstructed, the helicopter would have landed directly in a skiable area. The entrepreneur, owner of Olifer, a laminate company inherited from his father in Odolo, would have parked the vehicle on the edge of the track, put on skis and boots and started a descentbefore being reached and identified by the carabinieri who intervened on the scene.
The suspension of the licence, defined by ENAC as a measure “aimed at protecting safety”, is part of a procedure already started on 18 December in relation to the landing on 13 December. According to the Authority, the maneuver resulted in “prejudice to flight safety and the safety of people present in the area affected by the overflight”.
However, Maniva is not an isolated case. Last April Oliva was the protagonist of a similar episode on the slopes of Madonna di Campiglio, in Trentino. On that occasion the helicopter had landed in the off-piste area of the Grostè area, above 1,600 meters above sea level, an area where Trentino-Alto Adige regulations expressly prohibit landings. Stopped by the police while he was skiing, the entrepreneur had admitted, on that occasion, that he had no permit and was sanctioned with a fine of 2 thousand euros.
Last December 26th the entrepreneur intervened with a note. With a statement posted on social media, Oliva explained that he wanted to provide a “precise and complete reconstruction of the facts” in response to the numerous press articles, television reports and content disseminated online. According to what the entrepreneur stated, the landing took place “in a private area, outside the slopes”, specifying that the vehicle “was not parked on any ski area or on areas intended for the transit of skiers” and that the operation “did not jeopardize anyone’s safety“.
Oliva categorically denied some reconstructions circulated in the media and on social media, in particular the attribution of the phrase “I pay the fines and do what I want”, defined as “never uttered” and deemed “false, arbitrary and harmful” to his personal image. I reiterate my utmost consideration for the regulations in force and for the competent institutions” contesting a narrative that would have painted the episode as an act of arrogance or contempt for the rules. A representation which, he added, would also have fueled “personally threatening messages” towards him and his family.
