In the 1970s and '80s Libyan MiGs and Tupolevs were common visitors to international airspace , close to Italy and NATO bases . On 19 July 1980 , a crashed Libyan People 's Air Force MiG-23 was discovered on the Sila Mountains near Castelsilano , southern Italy . The event is speculated to be connected to the loss of Itavia Flight 870 a few weeks earlier
Itavia Flight 870
Itavia Flight 870
Libyan Air Force