 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.