Italian Government Calls American Pilots Criminal

R O M E, Feb. 8 -- The pilots of a U.S. Marine jet that sliced a skigondola's cables in 1998, killing 20 people, acted as "criminals"and the U.S. chain of command was responsible, an Italianparliamentary commission said today.

The 25-member commission from the lower Chamber of Deputiesinvestigated the cause of the accident on Mount Cermis, in northernItaly, for a year, sending a mission to the Pentagon in November.

"It's a shame that these two criminals — because this is whatthey are — were acquitted," Ermanno Iacobellis, a centrist whoheaded the commission, said of the pilots. "Their responsibilityis clear and direct."

A U.S. Embassy spokesman, Ian Kelly, said embassy officials hadreceived a copy of the report but would not comment on it until ithad been thoroughly reviewed. "We do want to work together toprevent future tragedy," he said.

Restrictions on Low Flights Tightened

Both Italian and American investigators had found before thatthe EA-6B Prowler jet was flying too low and too fast when it hitthe cable, sending the skiers crashing into the mountainside.

However, the commission said the current regulations forlow-altitude flights are adequate. A year after the accident, Italyand the United States reached an accord for tightening restrictionsof the low flights.

A U.S. military jury acquitted the jet's pilot of manslaughter.He was later sentenced to six months in prison and was dismissedfrom the Marines for helping to destroy a videotape of the flight.The jet's navigator was also dismissed from the Marines over thevideotape. Charges were dropped against two back-seat crewmen.

The commission's report said, however, that "responsibilitycould not be limited to the crew … but involved the whole U.S.chain of command" at Aviano Air Base, where the two airmen weredeployed for missions over Bosnia.

All the Marines there "enjoyed very broad and unusual autonomy,since effective controls over their activity was lacking," thecommission found.