1998 Cavalese cable car crash

On 3 February 1998, a surveillance plane of the U.S. Marines cut the lines of a ski lift cable-car in Cavalese (Italy); the twenty people inside the cabin plunged over 80 meters to their deaths. An Italian court determined that NATO treaties gave jurisdiction to U.S. military courts. Initially, all four men on the plane were charged, but only the two pilots actually faced trial. During the trial that took place in the U.S. it was determined that the maps on board did not show the cables and that the EA-6B Prowler plane was flying somewhat faster and considerably lower than allowed by military regulations. Pilot Captain Richard Ashby claimed that the height-measuring equipment on his plane was malfunctioning. In March 1999, the jury acquitted the two pilots, outraging the Italian public. The two pilots were court-martialed a second time for obstruction of justice, because they had destroyed a videotape recorded from the plane on the day of the accident. They were found guilty and the pilot received a six month prison term.