World

Italy Marks Cable Car Tragedy

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

February 3, 1999 / 9:46 AM EST / CBS

Townspeople and relatives of the dead gathered Wednesday at an Italian ski resort where a U.S. Marine jet cut a gondola cable one year ago, sending 20 Europeans falling to their deaths.

The faces of the victims' relatives who died show that a year has done little to ease the pain. Nor has a year done much to make good on a Marine Corps recommendation to pay "all proper claims for death and property damage." A lawyer for some of the victims' families says they're getting the runaround.

"The U.S. position is it's not going to make any restitution - the claims have to be made against the government of Italy. That's an eight- to ten-year process," said attorney C. Torrence Vanderhaven.

Justice will be swifter than that. The court martial of Capt. Richard Ashby, the pilot of the jet which severed the cable, is scheduled to begin Thursday. But is he the real culprit? The families were sure he was out for a joy ride.

"What they did was just like a bunch of American cowboys who are somewhere in another country and think they are playing a game with a joystick," said one family member.

A Marine Corps investigation also blamed Ashby, but he says he's a scapegoat.

"Mistakes were made and that's obvious," Ashby said. "Otherwise, it wouldn't have happened. But they weren't all our mistakes."

A computerized simulation shows what Ashby saw just before he severed the cable. He told CBS 60 Minutes Correspondent Mike Wallace that until that moment, he had no idea it was there.

"I am 100 percent sure it was not on my map," said Ashby.

Still, the plane was 600 feet lower than it was supposed to be and Ashby has a lot of explaining to do, such as: What happened to a videotape taken by his navigator?

"The only actual tape, including sound track, of the flight has disappeared. I can't imagine why that was done except to conceal evidence," said Vanderhaven.

But if the families are hoping that Ashby is found guilty and sentenced to life, they could be disappointed. The officer who recommended the court-martial has warned that a conviction is in "substantial doubt."

For the families of the victims, once the court-martial is resolved, they face a potential long haul through civilian courts to get their due.

The relatives have demanded the U.S. resolve the wrongful deaths claim and pay out compensation. One lawyer, representing some of the families, is demanding $5 million per victim. So far, they have only received about $67,000 each.

The town received $20 million for lost revenue and to rebuild its ski lift.

The accident strained relations between Italy and the U.S. -- the Italians claiming it was only a matter of time until a hot-dogging pilot ran into trouble.