40 years after a harrowing aerial crash, my friend the pilot and the lady who administered aid find some closure

All of my hobbies, skills and interests combined dramatically recently to produce a fascinating and satisfying result. They thrust me smack in the middle of a compelling story about true heroes from both America and Italy.

The saga began on February 8, 1985, with Air Force Lieutenant Tim Brown flying what was supposed to be a routine mission from Torrejon, Spain, to the NATO base in Aviano, Italy, in an F16 Fighting Falcon. When a malfunctioning heater caused a flap to freeze, the fighter went into a stall before plummeting to the earth in the foothills of the rugged Dolomite mountains near the village of Limana. Providentially, Brown managed to eject in time, and he parachuted to the ground, dripping blood from a gash on his face incurred during the violent ejection. Brown’s jet crashed into a field, and pieces of it littered a broad area.

Remains of the F15 fighter in the snowy field in Northern Italy.

Brown hiked down the hills, where he picked up some footprints in the snow and followed them to the farmhouse of Ermelinda Dal Farra. She spoke no English, and Brown no Italian, but she took him in, tended to his wounds and alerted the Italian state police, the Carabinieri, along with the fire department, the Vigili del Fuoco. Within a half hour, an ambulance came and transported Brown to the hospital in Belluno, but their brief time together in Dal Farra’s home left a lasting impression on both Tim and Ermelinda.

In the days after his hospital treatment, Brown returned to the scene of the accident with other Air Force officers to review the accident. Tim had brought flowers with him to give to Ermelinda, but she wasn’t home, so he wrote her a nice thank you note and left the flowers.

Tim and I attend the same church in Gig Harbor, and I’ve listened to his fascinating story a couple of times. Each time after ending the tale, Tim expressed regret that he was not able to thank Ermelinda in person. Before Tim’s father passed away, he had encouraged Tim to go back and find the lady who had helped him. Since I speak some Italian and am somewhat familiar with the Veneto region, we even discussed the possibility of me accompanying Tim to revisit the crash scene and visit Ermelinda.

I expressed willingness to do this, but several obstacles stood in the way, the first being that Tim did not know Ermelinda’s name, and he wasn’t even sure of the nearest city. He knew he had been hospitalized in Belluno, though, but would he be able to find the farmhouse again? And then there would be the cost of travel and the logistics. One doesn’t just hop in the car and drive from Gig Harbor to Belluno. It would take considerable planning and coordination.

So, first things first, I told Tim I’d see if I could find the name of the woman who had first given him aid. Tim seemed to doubt that I’d be able to do this—which probably served as a challenge to my investigative reporting skills. I started by doing a search for news of the crash, and I found a few articles online. The crash had happened near the small city of Limana. I looked at the map to see where Limana was, and then I searched for all the newspapers in the region. I sent an email to each newspaper, and within a few days, I received a helpful reply.

Lauredana Marsiglia of Il Gazzettino di Belluno told me she had written an article printed on the front page of her newspaper: “Crashed F16 in 1985: he seeks the woman who helped him.” Marsiglia also said she was asking for information from the Air Club in Belluno. Within two days, not only had Marsiglia found the woman but she had interviewed her and taken a photo of both Ermelinda and her husband (who had not been present on the day of the crash). It turns out that she still had Tim’s thank you note, mounted and hanging on her wall.

Tim’s reacted with surprise and gratitude, emailing me: “Paul, I simply can’t thank you enough for all your work (and to think this all happened in some four days after talking with you in church last Sunday—truly amazing!) I’m grateful to know she’s alive; to have her name and to see the photo of her.  Though I wouldn’t have been able to recognize her at all, that’s my name at the bottom of the note she has, and I know I wrote her. Jem and I need to plan a trip to Italy to meet her and her husband. Thanks again, Paul, I really appreciate everything you’ve done.”

However, the reporter wanted much more. She wanted to be able to make a video of a conversation between Tim and Ermelinda, and that went far beyond what Tim had in mind. He consulted with his old Air Force colleagues and the public affairs officer for the Air Force, and they all discouraged him from doing any kind of public interview. Reluctantly, I told Marsiglia that Tim had only wanted to someday meet privately with Ermelinda, but he wanted no further publicity.

Ermelinda Del Farra still has Tim's note, which she has mounted and keeps hanging on her wall.

However, in the meantime I had also been able to locate Ermelinda on Facebook and establish contact with her. I explained to her that Tim would always remember and be thankful for her kindness, but he was uncomfortable with how public the situation had become. She wrote back: “Good evening Mr. Paul. I was very pleased to hear that our American pilot looked for me. My whole family has always had him in their hearts for that miraculous event. We are always ready to welcome him when he wants. I will introduce you to my children, who also remember him. Now they are grown up, and I am a grandmother of three beautiful grandchildren. I would be very happy to spend time together. He is always welcome.”

And that’s the end of the story, or so I thought. But 2025 marked the 40th anniversary of the incident, and the people of Limana have not forgotten it. Journalist Giovanni Carraro contacted me in December to let me know there would be a special program at city hall on February 8 to memorialize the event. Present would be eye-witnesses and some of the first people to arrive on the crash scene, as well as Ermelinda Dal Farra. A documentary movie with interviews and details would also be shown.

I shared this information with Tim, and after some initial hesitation, he agreed to write a letter to thank Ermelinda and all the people of the community who had assisted him. He also sent a photo of himself and his wife Jem. The letter was translated into Italian and displayed and read at the special event.

This is likely the end of this story, as I believe these events have satisfied the need for both Tim and Ermelinda to find closure (although I would still be happy to accompany Tim if he does want to return to the scene). I received these notes afterwards from the main characters:

Tim: “Thanks so much for sending me the link (to the documentary video). I listened to the whole thing and was able to get a general sense of where the video was going, thanks to your summary. From a personal standpoint and though maybe not perfect, I do have a sense of closure on this event as I can truly say I fulfilled an aspect of my father’s encouragement to me years ago to thank Ermelinda. That wouldn’t have been possible without your help.”

Ermelinda: “Thank you for informing our dear pilot Tim Brown about the anniversary. Forty years have passed, and my family and I have never forgotten that famous evening. Tim, your letter was very emotional both for my family and all the participants. I would have liked to meet you, I hope that one day in private and alone with our families we can meet. It would make us very happy. Thank you, too, Paul Spadoni, for having been the spokesperson.”

Here is a link to the documentary of the crash shown by the journalist Giovanni Carraro February 8, 2025: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iozFe8YTmKI