The disaster, and the subsequent acquittal of the pilots, strained relations between the United States and Italy.[1]. All the squadron's pilots received a copy of the directive. Cermis near the Italian ski resort of Cavalese in the Dolomites, 40 km (25 mi) north-east of Trento. Italian observers, not surprisingly, are as stunned as they were disappointed. After approving the report, Pace suggested disciplinary measures be taken against the commanders as well. The then-United States Ambassador to Italy, Thomas M. Foglietta, visited the accident site and knelt in prayer, offering apologies on behalf of the United States. The document reports a camcorder aboard the flight, but it was blank after Schweitzer had taken the original cassette and burned it afterwards. The cable was cut at a height of 360 feet (110 m). [17] [16], By February 1999, the victims' families had received US$65,000 per victim as immediate help by the Italian government. It was proved that the squadron commander, Lieutenant Colonel Muegge, and his assistants, Captains Roys, Recce, Watton, and Caramanian, did not alert the navigator about the new flight altitude limitations, maybe because the proposed flight had a lower ceiling of 1,000 feet (300 m), enough to be safe with any cable in the area. And not only are they both found guilty: Ashby sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, reduced to 19 weeks for good behaviour. Navigator Schweitzer spies the stricken cabin lying in blood-spattered snow 250 feet below – but has to forgo any abortive rescue effort; determining instead to help get this now damaged aircraft back to Aviano, where control staff, back in radio contact, will be waiting for a jet with a split wing, broken tail, leaking hydraulic fluid; waiting indeed to reassure Ashby that his intact under-carriage will permit an emergency landing. Date: 9 March 1976 () Time: 17:20, local … The report included an interview with the commander of 31st Fighter Wing, who stated that Muegge confessed to him that he and his crew, save for Ashby, were aware of the current flight limitations. [5], President Bill Clinton offered an official apology[6] and promised monetary compensation. In December 1999, the Italian Parliament approved a monetary compensation plan for the families ($1.9 million per victim). In the report, the pilots are said to be usually well-behaved and sane, without any previous case of drug abuse or psychological stress. The aircraft was flying at a speed of 540 miles per hour (870 km/h)[citation needed] and at an altitude of between 260 and 330 feet (80 and 100 m) in a narrow valley between the mountains. The deadliest cable car disaster in history that claimed the lives of forty-three people happened on March 9, 1976, in Italy near the Cavalese ski resort. Meanwhile, Schweitzer rejoices that the military prosecutor has automatically dropped all charges against himself: his delight confined only by the discovery of Seagraves accepting a plea-bargain and “telling all”. Among those aboard were 21 West Germans, 11 Italians, 7 Austrians, and one French woman. On the morning of the disaster, the plane underwent maintenance due to a fault in the "G meter", which measures g-forces, and was replaced. 2009)", "United States v. Schweitzer, 08-0746/MC (C.A.A.F. Twenty people died when a United States Marine Corps EA-6B Prowler aircraft, flying too low and against regulations, cut a cable supporting a gondola of an aerial tramway. They no longer want US aircraft to fly from Aviano or anywhere else. ; How Wayward U.S. Nor have they forgiven their own Italian Air Force for severing electricity cables two years earlier, leading to major power outage. [2][3], Those killed, 19 passengers and one operator, were all Europeans: eight Germans, five Belgians, three Italians, two Poles, one Austrian and one Dutch. He was released after four and a half months for good behavior. He was released after four and a half months for good behavior. In March 1999, the jury acquitted Ashby, outraging the European public. [3][4], Those killed, nineteen passengers and one operator, were eight Germans, five Belgians, three Italians, two Poles, one Austrian, and one Dutch. The commission found that the squadron was deployed at Aviano on August 27, 1997, before the publishing of new directives by the Italian government forbidding flight below 2,000 feet (610 m) in Trentino-Alto Adige. [3][4][5], The cable car had a capacity of 40 people or 7,000 pounds (3,200 kg). Just one person, a 14-year old Milanese schoolgirl, survived that catastrophe. His agreement prevented him from serving any prison time, but it did not prevent him from receiving a dismissal. Pilot Killed 20 on Ski Lift", http://www.independent.co.uk/news/cable-car-pilot-not-guilty-of-killings-1078442.html, "Italian Government Calls American Pilots Criminal", http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=81517&page=1#.TzLXNsUfQSk, Judgement of the U.S. Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals, Jury Sentences Marine in Ski-Lift Incident to Dismissal, "Cermis, patto segreto dietro il processo", "Investigators Blame Marines for Cable Car Accident", http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=41284, ""È colpa nostra, dobbiamo pagare" ["It is our own fault, we have to pay", http://www3.lastampa.it/cronache/sezioni/articolo/lstp/411287/, "Il rapporto finale sul Cermis [The final report on the Cermis, http://www.ilpost.it/2011/07/13/rapporto-incidente-cermis/, https://military.wikia.org/wiki/Cavalese_cable_car_disaster_(1998)?oldid=4133227, 20 dead (1 cable car operator, 19 passengers), On 9 January 2002, Bolzano's Teatro Studio presented a dramatic play called, On 3 October 2011, National Geographic Channel aired the episode of. The document reports a camcorder aboard the flight, but it was blank after Schweitzer had taken the original cassette and burned it afterwards. It is freefall that presents the greatest danger. The cabin fell some 200 metres (660 ft) down a mountainside, then skidded 100 metres (330 ft) before coming to a halt in a grassy meadow. Schweitzer made a plea agreement that came to full light after the military jury deliberated upon sentencing. Almost worse, from a lay investigator’s standpoint, there is the Germanwings’ Flight 9525 plunge into France’s Massif des Trois Évêchés, on 24 March 2015: its spree-killing co-pilot apparently wanting to commit suicide. [1] The disaster, and the subsequent acquittal of the pilots, strained relations between the U.S. and Italy. The Cavalese cable car disaster of 1998 (also called the Strage del Cermis ("Massacre of Cermis") occurred on February 3, 1998, near the Italian town of Cavalese, a ski resort in the Dolomites some 40 km (25 mi) northeast of Trento. [1] On 9 March 1976, the steel supporting cable of an aerial tramway broke as a fully loaded cable car was descending from Mt. Ashby's trial took place at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Inevitably both officers lodge appeals on 12 counts: two concerning ‘'inadequate'’ evidence presented to court and too harsh a sentence. On 9 March 1976, the steel supporting cable of an aerial tramway broke as a fully loaded cable car was descending from Mt. [11][12], In a formal investigation report redacted on March 10, 1998 and signed by Lieutenant General Peter Pace, the U.S. Marine Corps agreed with the results of the Italian officers. Italian prosecutors wanted the four marines to stand trial in Italy, but an Italian court recognized that North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) treaties gave jurisdiction to U.S. military courts. The Cavalese cable car disaster of 1998, also called the Strage del Cermis (Italian: Massacre of Cermis) occurred on February 3, 1998, near the Italian town of Cavalese, a ski resort in the Dolomites some 25 miles (40 km) northeast of Trento.Twenty people died when a United States Marine Corps EA-6B Prowler aircraft, while flying too low, against regulations, cut a cable supporting a gondola of an aerial … Nor does Nato ground command face any punishment, even though many think its ineptitude is manifest. On 9 March 1976, 43 people – including 15 children – skidded 300 feet to their early deaths, trapped in their felled cabin, space additionally crushed by its own three-ton overhead assembly. The Cavalese cable car disaster of 1976 is the deadliest cable car crash in history. All the squadron's pilots received a copy of the directive. For the 1998 crash, see. The existence and destruction of this videotape only came to the attention of military investigators in August 1998, Captains Chandler P. Seagraves and William L. Raney received testimonial immunity and elected to disclose "the truth about everything. What happens, then, when an aircraft in close proximity to a cable car causes one or other or both to go into freefall? The cable was cut at a height of 360 feet (110 m). Ashby further claimed that the altitude-measuring equipment, the altimeter, on his plane had been malfunctioning, and that he had been unaware of the speed restrictions. [11], The Marine aircrew was determined to be flying too low and too fast, putting themselves and others at risk. Maurizio Molinari and Paolo Mastrolilli (13 July 2011). On the morning of the disaster, the plane underwent maintenance due to a fault in the "G meter", which measures g-forces, and was replaced.
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