Those aircraft that did reach the Sicilian coast were engaged by Axis anti-aircraft guns, which shot down 37 of them. Another ten were damaged and were forced to abort their mission. Some of the inexperienced pilots now refused to go any further, and on his aircraft Lieutenant Colonel Alastair Pearson, commanding officer of the 1st Parachute Battalion, realising his plane was flying round in circles, had to threaten to shoot the crew to make them continue. The anti-aircraft fire and the evasive action taken by the pilots had dispersed the aircraft formations, and the parachute drop was scattered over a large area. The violent evasive manoeuvring left some of the paratroopers in heaps on the aircraft floor, and they were unable to jump when ordered. When safely back out to sea, some of the pilots refused to try again, considering the risk too great. Of the surviving aircraft which carried on with the mission, only 39 managed to drop their paratroops within of the correct drop zone. The furthest off course were some groups from the 3rd Parachute Battalion and Royal Engineers who landed to the south of the bridge, while another four aircraft landed their paratroops on the slopes of Mount Etna to the north.