ITALY/US: Cermis victims denied justice
01 March 1999
The American airforce crew responsible for the disaster on the Cermis mountain near Cavalese, in the Italian Alps, caused by a US Army Prowler plane which severed the cable of a ski slope cable car on February 3 1998, have avoided prison sentences at their court martial in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The trial was held in the US under Article 7 of NATO's London Convention (1951) because the crash was interpreted as resulting from "acts and omissions conducted while on official duty" (Para 3.ii), and therefore falls within the jurisdiction of the US military authorities. There was widespread criticism of the sentences, and anger at the fact that the trials were held in the US, not in Italy. Prime minister D'Alema stressed that the not guilty verdict received by pilot Richard Ashby was "a serious problem" between the two countries. He added that it would be necessary to discuss the 1951 treaty, because:
"It will be necessary to see and understand whether this convention works or doesn't work, and if it effectively ensures the possibility of obtaining justice."
In February, pilot Richard Ashby, was found not guilty of causing the deaths of 20 people and a series of lesser indictments which could have brought him a combined sentence of up to 206 years in prison. His acquittal came despite the fact his Prowler was forbidden to engage in low flying exercises under NATO regulations and despite the fact that the pilot and his navigator had conspired to destroy the flight video, along with any evidence of misdemeanour it might have contained. Ashby had hidden the videotape and gave it to his navigator a few days later, with the advice; "Make it disappear, otherwise they'll eat us alive", which suggests that the accident was due to an irresponsible action on the part of the crew, rather than misfortune. A second trial, relating to the cover-up and destruction of evidence by navigator James Schweitzer, would be conducted with greater care and determination the Americans promised. A month later Schweitzer was expelled from the marines for obstructing justice and destroying evidence after pleading guilty. His plea provided a verdict designed to prevent the court from falling into ridicule, while sparing the navigator any penal punishment.
On the day before the accident the Americans had submitted a list of aircraft, including Prowlers, requesting that they should be cleared for low flying exercises. The Italian authorities at the Aviano base should have corrected the irregular US application for clearance for exercises the Prowler was not allowed to carry out in Italian airspace. But authorisation was granted and then confirmed by the control centre in Martinafranca.
During their enquiries investigating magistrates from the attorney's office in Trento, Francantonio Granero and Bruno Giardina, pointed to another six authorisations which violated NATO agreements in the months leading up to the tragedy. This happened in spite of a 1997 telegram from Italian military aviation to NATO headquarters limiting the number of low altitude flights to be carried out. It explicitly prohibited training flights for aircraft which were in transit, such as the Prowler. The magistrates' conclusions stressed the chain of command responsibility of the 31st squadron, but were also critical of the Italian military authorities responsible for controlling US flight activities. They claimed that they were in awe of American military personnel and overlooked "the frequent violations of flying discipline, committed by pilots from the American squadrons". These violations were often followed by inconclusive investigations with no proceedings taken against Italian or American personnel.
The magistrates had asked for the prosecution of seven American servicemen involved in the Cermis incident, including the four members of the crew (Ashby, Schweitzer, William Rainey and Chandler Seagraves), the squadron leader, Richard Muegge, an officer, Marc<