(2019-0047-F Segment 2) Cermis gondola accident

The materials in FOIA 2019-0047-F (Segment 2) are a selective body of documents responsive to the topic of the FOIA. The researcher submitted a request for materials related to the 1998 cable car accident near Cavalese, a ski resort town located in the Italian province of Tretino. On February 3, 1998, twenty people were killed when a United States Marine Corps aircraft struck the cables supporting a gondola lift at Alpe Cermis in the Dolomites, causing the cable car to fall 370 feet to the ground. An investigation determined that the aircraft had been flying both lower and faster than rules permitted when the accident occurred, and that the crew had been using obsolete maps that did not include the location of the aerial lift cables. The aircraft, a EA-6B Prowler, was piloted by United States Marine Corps Captain Richard J. Ashby. Captain Joseph Schweitzer was his navigator. According to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Status of Forces Agreement (NATO SOFA), the United States had jurisdiction over any potential case. The Italian government “requested a waiver of jurisdiction both for the seriousness of the incident, which had sparked a public outcry, and for the opportunity to make a complete assessment of responsibilities in a single trial…” but “[T]he United States declined to waive its jurisdiction.” Ashby and Schweitzer were court-martialed and each charged with involuntary manslaughter, negligent homicide, damage to military property, and dereliction of duty. Two other crew members, Captains Chandler P. Seagraves and William L. Raney, received immunity in exchange for their testimony. Ashby stood trial at USMC base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina and, in March 1999, a military jury acquitted him of all charges. The charges against Schweitzer were subsequently dropped. After the initial court-martial, it was discovered that Ashby and Schweitzer had used a personal video camera to record the flight and, upon landing in the damaged aircraft, they had agreed to remove the video cassette containing the recording and replace it with an unused, blank cassette. Days after the incident, and with the knowledge that they were under criminal investigation for the civilian deaths, Schweitzer destroyed the cassette containing the video recording of the mishap flight. They received a second court-martial, at which Ashby was convicted of “two counts of conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman [...] for obstruction of justice and conspiring to obstruct justice.” Both Ashby and Schweitzer were dismissed from the Marine Corps, and Ashby was sentenced to six months in prison. He ultimately served only four months, being let out early for good behavior. Materials responsive to this FOIA request include all emails referencing either Cavalese and gondola or cable car, and Richard J. Ashby. The bulk of the responsive records consist of press, including compiled foreign press summaries from USIA. There are also emails between White House staffers in the aftermath of the acquittal, as well as the initial incident report with updates sent by the United States military.