The formation reached the Adriatic Sea without further incident; however aircraft #28, "Wongo Wongo", belonging to the 376th Bombardment Group (the lead group, about 40 B-24s) and piloted by Lt. Brian Flavelle began to fly erratically before plunging into the sea due to unknown causes. Lt. Guy Iovine — a personal friend of Flavelle and piloting aircraft #23 "Desert Lilly" — descended from the formation in order to look for survivors, narrowly missing aircraft "Brewery Wagon" piloted by Lt. John Palm. No survivors were seen, and due to the additional weight of fuel, Iovine was unable to regain altitude to rejoin the formation and resume course to Ploiești.